Chapter 13: 013 Sending Away

 Chapter 13: 013 Sending Away

What?! The young miss intends to send her home?! Liu Li understood the meaning behind Chu Qianchen's words and raised her head in disbelief. She said, "It really isn’t the maid..."

Chu Qianchen interrupted her, "You’re not young anymore. I’m showing you mercy and not sending you off to be matched with some boy."

Liu Li was three years older than her, and she was almost sixteen this year.

According to the rules of the mansion, maidservants were usually married off at eighteen, and those who were deemed respectable in front of their masters might continue to serve as wives after marriage.

Liu Li was barely sixteen, still far from the age to be married off as a maid.

Being sent back at this time by the Marquis residence meant everyone would know she had done something wrong and offended her mistress. What good prospects could she expect once she returned home?!

With this in mind, the resentment in Liu Li’s eyes deepened, so intense it was almost impossible to hide.

Chu Qianchen watched Liu Li with interest. In her previous life, she had been raised to be so obedient and gentle that she hadn’t even noticed the servants around her had already lost their loyalty.

"Go," Chu Qianchen said lightly. "I won’t say it a second time."

Liu Li clenched her fists and looked up. "Miss, have you consulted with Auntie?"

Chu Qianchen met her gaze calmly.

Liu Li had been given to her by Concubine Jiang. In her previous life, shortly after her face was ruined, Liu Li’s parents had gone to Concubine Jiang, saying they had arranged a marriage for Liu Li and wanted to take her back...

However, not long after, Liu Li became her father’s concubine servant.

Thinking of this, a wave of disgust rose in Chu Qianchen’s heart.

"Since that’s the case, then go back to Auntie," Chu Qianchen’s voice remained soft and gentle, neither angry nor fierce, yet the words she spoke made Liu Li’s heart race. "This place is too small to accommodate you. Leave."

Hu Po, standing nearby, was utterly stunned. 

She knew how much her mistress trusted Liu Li, but she never expected that the young miss would actually drive Liu Li away so decisively, without any hesitation or hesitation.

Hu Po composed herself and quickly went over to pull Liu Li up, saying, "Liu Li, you should go down for now. Don’t stay here and block the young miss’s sight."

Liu Li: "..."

Liu Li bit her lip tightly.

She lowered her head, hiding the resentment in her eyes, and said, "Yes, young miss, this servant will leave now..."

She shook off Hu Po’s hand and left without looking back.

Chu Qianchen didn’t even glance at her, calmly sipping her tea.

In this second life, she had so many things to do, and no time to train a maid with ulterior motives.

"Hu Po," Chu Qianchen ordered, "bring over the things I just bought."

Hu Po snapped out of her daze, quickly responding and rushing to take care of it.

Chu Qianchen had gone out and bought a lot of things, including silver needles, some medicinal herbs, a mortar, and a pestle. Hu Po placed these items neatly on an Eight Immortals table.

Chu Qianchen stood up and walked over to the table, her gaze slowly scanning the items.

What she was going to make was the Great Creation Pill.

The process of making the Great Creation Pill was extremely complicated and time-consuming, so it had to be prepared as soon as possible.

Of course, the medicinal materials she had bought this time were far from enough, and many precious herbs were not so easy to obtain.

Hu Po watched Chu Qianchen handle the herbs and once again felt a growing doubt: Where did the young miss learn medical skills?

"Last year, when I stayed at the estate, I secretly read a few medical books," Chu Qianchen replied, easily noticing Hu Po's doubts, mentioning it briefly without going into detail.

The fact that she knew medicine was impossible to hide, and she had no intention of doing so. In fact, she wanted to use it to build a reputation, so there was no need for secrecy.

Though this explanation might fool others, it certainly wouldn’t fool Hu Po, who had accompanied her to the estate last year. Hu Po knew very well whether or not she had read any medical books.

Moreover, medical skills weren’t something one could learn just by reading a couple of books; this was merely a story for outsiders.

Chu Qianchen paused her movements and raised her head to look at Hu Po, who was standing a few steps away.

In her previous life, she had trusted Liu Li over Hu Po, keeping a distance from Hu Po. But in the final days at the Chu family, it was Hu Po who had taken care of her.

At that time, the Chu family was in chaos. After Mu Ge'er passed away, her legitimate mother, Shen Shi, had been bedridden with illness, her health fluctuating between good and bad, and the responsibility of managing the family’s affairs was handed over to Chu Qianhuang.

As for her, Chu Qianchen’s situation in the Chu family was difficult.

Her clothing and food were constantly restricted, and she was often left to freeze half to death in the cold of winter. When she had a high fever that wouldn’t subside, it was Hu Po who managed to seek help from her sick legitimate mother...

It was her legitimate mother who spoke on her behalf, called a physician, and punished the servants.

Sometimes, Chu Qianchen thought that if her legitimate mother hadn’t run out of energy and failed to survive that winter, perhaps she wouldn’t have been swept out of the Marquis residence.

But now, with Mu Ge’er alive, her legitimate mother probably wouldn’t have passed away so early.

Hu Po didn’t avoid Chu Qianchen’s gaze and smiled, saying, "The bookstore I often visit also sells medical books. Since the young miss likes them, I’ll go and get some for you tomorrow."

Whatever the young miss said was what mattered!

The young miss might be too close to the situation to see it clearly, but Hu Po, as her personal maid, could see it all too clearly. The young miss was simply too obedient. Despite her beauty surpassing everyone’s, and despite Concubine Jiang, who gave birth to the legitimate eldest son, being favored, the young miss was always the one people could bully in the household. 

Concubine Jiang always claimed to feel sorry for the young miss, but Hu Po had never seen her do anything for her. Instead, every time something happened, she would push the young miss forward to take the blame.

No matter where the young miss had learned her medical skills, it was certainly a good thing that she knew how to hide her talents now.

Chu Qianchen smiled faintly, thinking Hu Po was quite thoughtful. It was a good idea to have a few medical books displayed on the shelf.

"Bring me some more gauze," Chu Qianchen instructed, and Hu Po hurried to fetch it.

Chu Qianchen carefully sorted the medicinal materials she had bought, took a few of them, and using scissors, cut them into small pieces before placing them in the mortar. She then used the pestle to grind the herbs slowly and meticulously.

Her movements were neither hurried nor slow, skilled and steady, her expression focused. The soft golden light from the window fell on her, as if dusting her with a faint layer of gold, making her look delicate like a flower, so beautiful that it was hard to look away.

Hu Po, who entered just then, happened to witness this scene. She stared at Chu Qianchen for a while, entranced.

Hu Po quickly regained her composure and walked briskly to Chu Qianchen, holding the gauze in her hands.

The room was filled with the faint aroma of medicinal herbs.

Hu Po placed the gauze on the Eight Immortals table and heard Chu Qianchen speak without looking up. "Bring me a small bowl and find some fine bamboo sticks or small wooden rods. You’ll need to help me make something later."

Hu Po answered one by one and quickly left to prepare.

Chu Qianchen spent a full hour grinding the herbs in the mortar until it became a watery paste. Meanwhile, Hu Po had also kept busy, following Chu Qianchen’s instructions to create a simple bamboo frame.

Chu Qianchen put down the pestle and, using the gauze, wrapped the watery paste and placed it onto the bamboo frame. The translucent, light green liquid slowly dripped through the layers of gauze into a small bowl beneath the frame.  

(End of chapter)