After Marrying The Paranoid God of War (Rebirth) - Chapter 36
After Huo Lezhi finished the policy discussion exam at the Imperial College, he didn’t go straight back to the Prime Minister’s residence. Instead, he instructed the coachman to turn the carriage around and head to Anren Alley, where the Ping’an Hall was located.
Ping’an Hall, situated in a secluded alley, took Huo Lezhi a while to find. It was a medical hall run by a female doctor with the surname Ruan.
Upon entering the hall, Huo Lezhi was informed by the medicine boy, Tian Ya, “Miss Ruan is not seeing patients today, young master. Please come back another day.”
Huo Lezhi, having finally found some free time to make this trip, was naturally disappointed at not meeting Doctor Ruan and inquired further, “Not seeing patients? What days of the month does she see patients?”
Before entering the hall, Huo Lezhi had noticed the plaque with its inscription and recognized the three characters of Ping’an Hall, personally inscribed by his elder brother.
Although he felt a bit guilty towards the senior madam of the Marquis’s house, Huo Lezhi was genuinely curious about Miss Ruan, while also maintaining a sense of propriety in his heart.
If he met her in person, Huo Lezhi would not lack the discernment to mention his elder brother in front of Miss Ruan.
Recently, the official families in Chang’an City had been talking about how the Marquis of Dingbei backed his new wife, Mrs. Fang, by sending a basket of lychees to the Marquis’s house.
It seems his elder brother, Huo Pingxiao, loves both sides.
Feeling somewhat melancholic, Huo Lezhi heard Tian Ya reply, “I’m not sure about that. However, from the 10th to the 15th of each month, Miss Ruan is definitely here to see patients. Moreover, our Ping’an Hall does not charge patients during those days. But if you wish to see Miss Ruan for treatment during these days, you should come early.”
Huo Lezhi paused upon hearing this.
The Imperial College had just ended its spring break, and he wouldn’t have time from the 10th to the 15th. He had only managed to come to Anren Lane because the sacrificial wine master had just ordered the college to finish examining the students and gave them a short break.
Knowing he couldn’t meet Doctor Ruan anytime soon, Huo Lezhi felt somewhat disappointed.
It seems like these divine doctors are elusive.
As he left the medical hall, he saw a familiar servant from the Prime Minister’s residence, who respectfully said, “Third young master, the Prime Minister is looking for you. Please come back with me.”
Upon reaching Tongjian Garden, Huo Lang, to Huo Lezhi’s surprise, showed interest in examining Huo Lezhi’s studies.
Huo Lezhi had been focusing on storybooks lately and hadn’t properly reviewed his texts. Sitting at the desk, he felt nervous, as if treading on thin ice.
He noticed that since Huo Xi entered the residence, Huo Lang had been calling him more frequently than before.
Huo Xi, sitting at the adjacent desk, took a piece of paper handed over by Steward Su.
The curriculum at the Imperial College included nine classics, divided into major, medium, and minor categories, from which students could choose their major, minor, and required courses.
Huo Lezhi’s major at the Imperial College were the “Book of Rites” and the “Mao Poetry.” Coincidentally, Huo Xi had also recently studied the major classic “Book of Rites.” Huo Lang casually quizzed the uncle and nephew on the section “The Record of Learning (??)” to see how much they could recite.
Upon hearing that Huo Lang intended to test them on “The Record of Learning,” Huo Lezhi was relieved.
Fortunately, “The Record of Learning” was also part of the day’s exam at the Imperial College, and he had crammed it the night before, able to remember most of it.
After dipping his brush in ink, Huo Lezhi quickly wrote down phrases like “Jade uncarved does not become an object” on the rice paper.
After a period of time, both Huo Lezhi and Huo Xi had finished transcribing “The Record of Learning” from the “Book of Rites.” Given Huo Xi’s younger age and difficulty in holding the brush, his writing was slower than his uncle’s.
After Steward Su showed their transcriptions to Huo Lang, he commented to Huo Lezhi, “You’ve made some progress.”
Huo Lezhi smiled sheepishly, glancing at Huo Xi’s paper. The boy had only managed to recite half of “The Record of Learning,” missing two phrases, slightly better than his own performance.
However, Huo Lezhi thought, for a child Huo Xi’s age, being able to memorize “Book of Rites” to this extent was quite remarkable.
After leaving Tongjian Garden, Huo Lang called Huo Xi over. He handed him the “The Record of Learning” he had written and asked, puzzled, “Yesterday, you recited this perfectly in front of me. Why can you only write half of it today?”
Huo Xi, with a flush of embarrassment, lowered his head and replied softly, “I somewhat forgot the content of ‘The Record of Learning.’ Perhaps it’s because I went to bed late last night and was a bit groggy this morning.”
“But don’t worry, Grandfather, I will definitely study hard tonight.”
Huo Lang looked at him deeply, saying nothing more, and simply ordered the servants to take Huo Xi away.
After Huo Xi and Huo Lezhi left, Huo Lang looked up at the declining magnolia tree, his deep eyes filled with unfathomable emotions.
Steward Su approached him, only to hear Huo Lang mutter to himself, “If Huo Xi were to go to the Imperial College now, could he keep up with the studies there?”
Though it was a question, there was a certainty in his tone.
Steward Su, recalling the examination they had just witnessed, felt more convinced that the young lord would be an extraordinary person in the future.
Huo Xi could recite the entire “Book of Rites” without missing a word, but being so young, he knew how to conceal his brilliance, not seeking excessive praise from his elders and avoiding embarrassing his uncle in front of Huo Lang.
Such wisdom and insight truly impressed Steward Su, who had seen many talented individuals.
Thinking this, Steward Su respectfully replied, “Prime Minister, with the young lord’s intelligence, he can certainly keep up with the studies at the Imperial College. Although the college requires students to be thirteen to enroll, there have been exceptions. The grandson of Grand Tutor Li, Li Yizhi, who was exceptionally intelligent, was admitted to the college at the age of nine.”
Huo Lang glanced around and coughed a few times.
Steward Su paused, then added, “Since the Li family set the precedent, sending the young lord there wouldn’t raise objections.”
“But… given the young lord’s age, he is much younger than the other students, who are sons of officials. Can he adapt if he is sent there now?”
Huo Lang replied calmly, “He is my grandson, Huo Lang. Why couldn’t he?”
Steward Su blinked, realizing the Prime Minister’s point.
Indeed, the young lord was the grandson of Prime Minister Huo Lang and the direct son of Marquis Huo Pingxiao. With such status in the Imperial College, his position would be more esteemed than some princes of humble birth. Plus, he would have the care of the Third Young Master.
Huo Xi himself was not an easy target. If he decided to use tactics, even boys ten years older than him might not be able to compete with him.
As the summer wind began to rise in the courtyard, swirling the wilted petals on the stone pavement, Huo Lang’s tone became more somber, “Besides, the time I have left is not much.”
Steward Su’s expression changed slightly, tremblingly replying, “Prime Minister, please don’t say that…”
But Huo Lang didn’t let Steward Su finish, retracting his sharp gaze and commanding sternly, “Push me inside.”
At the medical hall, business was booming. Ruan An noticed that several herbs were missing from the cabinet and planned to take Tian Ya and Tian Jiang to a nearby herb shop to purchase some.
“Miss Ruan, you don’t need to go to the herb shop to buy the ingredients,” one of them said. “Last night, Tian Ya and I were at the East Market, and we saw many herb farmers selling their herbs at low prices. Licorice, Dendrobium, and Eucommia, these cheap herbs were almost being given away for free.”
Ruan An was surprised and asked, “Only the official pharmacies registered with the government are allowed to sell herbs. Weren’t the street officials stopping these herb farmers in the East Market?”
Tian Ya then lowered his voice and explained to Ruan An, “Actually… we went to the ghost market, where all sorts of things are sold.”
Understanding dawned on Ruan An, who then cautioned, “The ghost market is not a safe place. You should go there less often.”
Tian Jiang and Tian Ya replied in unison, “Yes.”
In Chang’an, there were strict curfews, and after the designated hours, merchants were prohibited from trading. However, the city also had a ghost market that operated at midnight, where many traders conducted business in secret.
Ruan An pondered for a moment, then asked, “What about the quality of the herbs in the ghost market?”
Tian Jiang replied honestly, “Tian Ya and I both think the quality of these herbs is good, definitely much better than the batch we previously purchased.”
At that moment, Ruan An suddenly remembered that in her past life, during this year, because several herb mountains within the territory of Li country had a good harvest, many herb farmers in Chang’an City started selling their herbs at low prices.
A visionary official’s son who was in business had personally gone to the ghost market. From one of the herb farmers there, he learned that these farmers had a large quantity of various herbs in their possession but found it difficult to bring them all into the city.
“Anyway, herbs don’t spoil easily,” the official’s son thought. So, he took advantage of the low prices and spent thousands of taels of silver to buy all the herbs from the farmers.
A few years later, several herb mountains in the Li country suffered from floods, leading to a significant increase in herb prices. The official’s son made a considerable profit, but unfortunately, while he earned a lot, some poor people couldn’t afford to buy medicines.
Drought kills, and floods do the same.
Ruan An, not wanting to see this situation recur, decided to buy up all the herbs circulating in the ghost market as soon as possible to prevent anyone from monopolizing them in the future.
With this in mind, Ruan An considered her finances.
To purchase all the herbs from those mountains and fields, she would need at least three thousand taels of silver. Even though herbs like Dendrobium and Licorice were cheap, others like Ginseng and Lingzhi were a thousand, even ten thousand times more expensive.
Moreover, since the official’s son could manage such a purchase, he must have used legitimate means.
Ruan An calculated that besides the cost of the herbs themselves, she would need more silver for transportation and storage.
However, she didn’t have enough money at hand. The consultation fee given to her by Huo Pingxiao was her private wealth.
The ten thousand taels of silver note given to her by Wei Yuan before their marriage lay untouched in her cosmetic box.
She could pawn her jewelry for a good price, but as a Marquise’s wife, it wasn’t appropriate for her to pawn her jewelry.
It seemed she had no choice but to use that silver note.
“Clang—” A sound.
Huo Pingxiao was originally drawing a geomancy map on a sheepskin scroll, concentrated, but was interrupted by the noise.
He looked up and saw Ruan An placing her cosmetic box on the desk.
The lady looked somewhat embarrassed. She opened her lips, hesitating as if wanting to speak but stopping herself.
After a while, she softly called him, “Husband.”
Huo Pingxiao put down his pen, not understanding what she intended. He looked at her and asked softly, “What’s wrong?”
Not wanting to delay and complicate the matter of buying herbs, Ruan An, under Huo Pingxiao’s gaze, took the silver note from the cosmetic box.
Holding it with her delicate fingers, she spoke seriously, “I want to discuss something with the Marquis. The cash flow in the Marquis’s mansion should be sufficient for a year… I might use up this ten thousand taels in the next few days and won’t be able to return it to you shortly.”
“…As for the purpose, I will explain it to you. I want to use it to buy herbs. Of course, if you don’t agree, I won’t use this money.”
“Disagree?”
Huo Pingxiao slightly frowned, even amused by her hesitant words.
He stared into her tender apricot eyes, asking helplessly, “Do you know why I had Wei Yuan give you this money in the first place?”
But Ruan An nodded, her tone certain, replying softly, “Husband, you probably thought my dowry was too little, so you wanted to supplement it…”
“Wrong.”
Huo Pingxiao stood up from his armchair and walked towards her.
As he spoke, the amusement in his dark eyes deepened.
Ruan An, not understanding why he was laughing at her, turned her face away as he approached.
Her fair complexion showed a hint of annoyance, and the soft flesh at her jaw was suddenly touched by his long, cool fingers.
Huo Pingxiao suddenly came close to her face, his stern, firm features stopping just inches from her lips.
He didn’t kiss her, his voice casual, “That silver note was meant for you to buy hairpins and toys. You took it so seriously.”
His warm breath and deep, magnetic voice tickled her ear.
Ruan An, however, did not forget the matter at hand. She turned her face back and looked up at him to confirm, “Then I will use it to buy herbs. I’ll spend it all by tomorrow night.”
“You say.”
Suddenly, he leaned down and kissed her softly on the forehead, asking gently, “Whose silver is it if not for you to spend, my wife?”
