Chapter 7

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Gu Yan Fei closed her eyes completely, amplifying her senses several times. The evening breeze was cool as water, and the flowers and trees in the courtyard danced in the wind. She could clearly hear the wind rustling through the branches, the sound of falling flowers, flowing water, birds flapping their wings… and the barely audible chirping of insects. After a while, she finally opened her eyes, certain of one thing—

The spiritual energy in this small world was thin, nearly nonexistent. Even a prodigious talent with a heavenly spiritual root would be unable to draw spiritual energy into their body in a lifetime. Without the ability to cultivate, she could only be a powerless mortal.

A cool wind from outside blew through the window, lifting a corner of the stack of white paper under the paperweight, causing it to rustle. Gu Yan Fei took a sheet of paper, laid it flat on the desk, and then leisurely began grinding ink. The ink stick turned in circles on the inkstone, and the fragrance of the ink grew stronger.

The candlelight on the desk made Gu Yan Fei’s dark eyes exceptionally bright, like the night sky filled with countless stars. Confucius said, “Do not worry about lacking a position; worry about the means to establish yourself. Do not worry about being unknown; seek to be worthy of being known.”

Having lived two lives, Gu Yan Fei understood the deep meaning of this saying more profoundly. In life, to establish oneself, one must have a skill to rely on.

Gu Yan Fei picked up a wolf-hair brush, dipped its tip in ink, and wrote the two characters “道医” on the paper. The characters were written like flowing clouds and flowing water, vigorous and powerful. The stroke was clean and neat, giving a sense of grace and ease, like drifting clouds and flowing ink.

She quietly gazed at the two characters.

The “道” in “道医” (Daoist Physician) is not the Daoist “道”.

A Daoist Physician uses Dao to benefit life and medicine to help the world. They are skilled not only in using herbs, decoctions, formulas, and acupuncture to treat illnesses but also in practices like guiding, breath regulation, internal alchemy, and fasting for health. Additionally, their methods include Dao, virtue, talismans, divination, fortunes, spells, fasting, rituals, and prayers, focusing on both body and spirit, forming a unique system.

In the Yao Ling Realm, she was a medical cultivator, entering the sect at the age of five. Her master taught her that all things, though they may seem different, ultimately converge. “Dao” exists within things, and things exist within “Dao”.

This small world must also have its own “Dao”.

Gu Yan Fei curled her lips in a smile, her expression as bright as a peony blooming under the moonlight.

“Miss.”

The voice of Juan Bi came from outside the door. Gu Yan Fei responded, and Juan Bi pushed the door open, entering with a food box in hand. Her delicate round face showed an unmistakable worry.

“Miss, the cook in the kitchen told me that Xu Momo is returning to the capital,” Juan Bi said while placing the food box down. “Xu Momo said you have no manners, and taking you back to the capital would be a disgrace to the Marquis’s residence, so she won’t take you back.”

Juan Bi furrowed her brows tightly, deeply troubled. With Xu Momo’s nitpicking nature, she would certainly report to the Old Madam after returning to the capital, and the Old Madam’s favor or displeasure would determine whether the Second Miss could return to the capital…

Gu Yan Fei didn’t even flinch, responding indifferently with three words: “Let her go.”

“But…” Juan Bi wanted to say something more but was interrupted by Gu Yan Fei.

“Send someone to Xijiao Mountain to collect the bodies,” Gu Yan Fei said, standing up and walking to the dressing table. She took a pair of red gold earrings inlaid with pearls from the jewelry box. “Take these earrings to the Dou’s pawnshop and pawn them. Hire someone to handle it.”

Juan Bi took the earrings, feeling a warmth in her heart, but then a strong sense of bitterness washed over her. Xu Momo intended to give the Miss a harsh lesson, and people in the household would certainly not listen to her. They would have to hire people outside to collect the bodies. Thinking of the tragic deaths of Old Wang the coachman and Zhang Pozi, Juan Bi felt a heavy burden on her shoulders.

“Miss, don’t worry. I’ll handle it right away,” Juan Bi said, taking her leave and leaving in a hurry, momentarily forgetting about Xu Momo’s departure.

Juan Bi leaving immediately reached Xu Momo’s ears.

A woman in her fifties with a face full of brown spots smiled obsequiously at Xu Momo and said, “I deliberately hinted to Juan Bi, which startled her so much that she almost dropped the food box. She hurriedly left after going to the Second Miss. I think the Second Miss must have realized her mistake and sent Juan Bi out to buy some nice things to make amends to you!”

Xu Momo picked up her teacup, calmly curling her lips into a smile and sighed, “The Second Miss grew up outside and has a peculiar temperament… We servants must just be more tolerant.”

Having just had a tooth knocked out, there was a black gap when she opened her mouth, making her speech somewhat lisping.

The woman repeatedly agreed and offered a series of flattering remarks. Nearby, two young maidservants were packing up the luggage, occasionally coming to ask Xu Momo for instructions.

“Feng Pozi, you go keep an eye on the Second Miss.” Xu Momo casually sent Feng Pozi off, a hint of malice in her eyes. The Second Miss had made her lose face in front of the servants, and she would not let this matter rest. However—

A stick of incense burned out, an hour passed, two hours passed… As the candle burned out and night turned to day, Xu Momo still did not see Gu Yan Fei.

“Xu Momo, the luggage is packed. Old Li is asking when we will set out…”

After breakfast, the young maidservant came to ask Xu Momo, bracing herself and not daring to look at her dark, sullen face. A night of poor sleep had made Xu Momo’s calm demeanor disappear, replaced by embarrassment and anger. She slammed the teacup onto the tea table beside her, the loud sound making the young maidservant flinch, her head lowering even further.

Irritated and restless, she rubbed her temples. Now, she only had two options: either to lose face and not leave or to abandon the Second Miss and immediately return to the capital. She naturally preferred the second option, but the problem was that if she did not take the Second Miss back to the capital, it would be difficult to explain.

She still remembered that before she left the capital in June, the Old Madam had specifically instructed her to properly teach the Second Miss the rules, as it concerned the reputations of both the Gu and Fang families. The Old Madam placed great importance on the marriage between the Marquis’s residence and the Duke Ying’s house, awaiting the Second Miss’s return to fulfill the engagement. This task must not fail… To put it bluntly, if she did not handle it well, there were many others in the Marquis’s residence waiting to take over.

Thinking of this, Xu Momo felt a throbbing pain in the spot where she had lost her tooth, as if the pain was seeping into her very bones.

“Xu Momo, it’s bad!” Feng Pozi cried out dramatically, rushing into the room with her round chin and plump body jiggling with each step.

Xu Momo was inwardly disdainful of Feng Pozi’s crudeness but still asked, “What happened?”

Feng Pozi replied, “This morning, when the purchasing money servant passed by the Dou family pawnshop, she was stopped by one of the shop’s clerks. The clerk said that someone pawned a pair of earrings there yesterday evening, and the earrings had the mark of our Marquis’s residence… Now, there are rumors outside saying that our Dingyuan Marquis’s residence has fallen into poverty… that we might be stripped of our title.”

The last five words were spoken in increasingly lower tones, almost as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.

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