Chapter 515 - 515: Treating the Symptom But Not the Cause

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

After dinner, everyone in the Chu family busied themselves with their respective tasks.

Chu Xu jin borrowed several books on forensic science from the government office. Inspired by Chu Qingzhi’s guidance, he developed a strong interest in autopsy.

With nothing urgent at the government office, he dedicated himself to studying autopsy techniques. The experienced coroners were so overwhelmed by his persistent inquiries that they started avoiding him, leaving him to study on his own.

While reading, he encountered two characters he didn’t recognize.

After struggling to recall them from memory and failing, he felt troubled.

Suddenly, his lips curled up into a faint and shy smile. He was worried about not having a chance to get close to Lihua. Wasn’t this a perfect opportunity?

He lit the lamps in the four corners of the second-floor hall and on the table, then went downstairs to pour a glass of orange juice from the fridge, placing it on the table in the hall.

The fridge, a combination of bricks and wood, resembled a double-door fridge. Using magic, Chu Qingzhi made the upper part a cooler and the lower part a freezer. The whole family, especially Li Qingyu, loved this fridge.

Chu Xu jin stood in front of the door for a while. In the end, he bit the bullet and knocked on Ge Lihua’s door nervously. “Lihua, 1 have some questions to ask. Are you asleep?”

Ge Lihua was sitting at her desk, reading “The Chronicles of Four Kingdoms” given to her by Wu Yaqing. Hearing Chu Xujin’s knock, she glanced at Wu Yaqing, who was decently dressed, before opening the door to see what he wanted.

Chu Xujin pulled out a chair for her and said, “Please sit.”

Ge Lihua, somewhat suspiciously, sat down while Chu Xujin moved a glass of juice in front of her. “I poured it for you.”

Wu Yaqing and Chu Qingning walked over at the same time and stood by the door to eavesdrop.

Ge Lihua took a sip of juice. “Xujin, tell me. What’s the matter?”

Chu Xujin returned to his room and brought the book over. He sat beside Ge Lihua. “I don’t know these two characters.”

Ge Lihua took the book and looked at it seriously. Then, she explained to Chu Xujin in detail, “Do you understand now?”

Chu Xujin didn’t know if he should say that he understood or not. If he said that he understood, they would go back to their rooms. If he said that he didn’t understand, would Lihua think that he was too stupid?

What a dilemma.

Seeing that Chu Xujin did not respond, Ge Lihua asked again in a low voice.

Chu Xujin could only nod. “Lihua, wait a moment, there are a few more characters 1 don’t recognize. Could you explain them to me too?”

Ge Lihua, noticing Chu Xujin’s clumsy attempt to prolong their interaction, secretly smiled and agreed, “Sure.”

Chu Qingning turned around and waved at Chu Qingyue. She mouthed, “Second Sister, come and listen.”

Chu Qingyue was very busy now. Chu Qingzhi had given her ten more styles of clothes. She was fusing the embroidery techniques she had learned with the new styles of clothes and preparing to produce new clothes.

After seeing Chu Qingning’s gesture, Chu Qingyue shook her head and continued with her work.

Chu Qingning walked towards Chu Qingyue helplessly. She looked at the embroidery work in Chu Qingyue’s hand. “Second Sister, why aren’t you curious at all?”

“I have so much to do myself!” Chu Qingyue reached out and tapped Chu Qingning’s forehead, “You should hurry up and read your medical books, it’s almost time to sleep.”

“Oh…” Chu Qingning sat at the side obediently and flipped open the medical book. In a few breaths, she was immersed.

Chu Qingyue smiled. Fourth Sister really loved medicine. Medical books were so complicated and yet her fourth sister didn’t find it boring. If it were her, she would definitely have a headache.

In the hall, Chu Xujin continued to ask Ge Lihua to explain to him. Ge Lihua did not expose him. In the end, the two of them read together.

A subtle affection was slowly developing between them.

In Chu Qingzhi’s room.

Chu Qingyan was in front of the mirror, applying makeup to her eyes. She was practicing the exaggerated makeup used in operas, which is quite challenging and requires skill.

After working on it for a while, she finally stopped and asked, “Fifth sister, how does it look? Am I getting there?”

“Out of ten points, I’d give you five,” Chu Qingzhi replied, taking the makeup brush and making some adjustments to Chu Qingyan’s eyes. “Now look again, do you see the difference?”

Chu Qingyan examined her reflection, looking from left to right, and excitedly said, “Fifth sister, I see the difference! My eyes look bigger and more expressive. Compared to yours, mine looked like dead fish eyes. You’ve brought the fish to life.”

Chu Qingzhi then pulled out a stack of papers from a drawer and handed them to Chu Qingyan. “Here’s a summary of makeup techniques and some theory I’ve put together for you. Take a look.”

Chu Qingyan gratefully accepted the papers with both hands. “Thank you, Fifth sister.”

Chu Qingzhi affectionately patted her head, smiling. “Do you have another village girl coming over for makeup tomorrow?”

“Yes, yes, yes,” Chu Qingyan nodded eagerly. “The bridal makeup I did for Chu Xiaotang last time was a hit. Her husband thought she was a fairy descending from heaven when he saw her. After hearing about it, everyone’s been asking me to do their makeup.”

“It shows how good our Qingyan is at makeup.”

“Fifth sister, 1 have a question,” Chu Qingyan suddenly looked troubled, her delicate brows furrowing slightly.

“What is it?”

“Fifth sister, I can only do so much with makeup and contouring. It’s like treating the symptoms but not the cause. Is there a way to make people genuinely beautiful? For example, Hongxiu has many spots on her face. Is there a way to remove them?”

“Her facial spots are due to internal body issues. With some treatment and the application of certain medicinal creams, she might see improvements.”

Chu Qingyan’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. “Fifth sister, how do you make medicinal cream?”

Chu Qingzhi wrote down a prescription on a piece of paper, listing twenty different herbs. “The ten on the left are available in our herbal garden. You’ll need to get the other ten from a medical hall. I’ll teach you how to make the cream tomorrow night.”

Chu Qingyan carefully took the prescription, examining it. “1 promise to get the herbs ready.”

The herbs were a little expensive. Chu Qingzhi asked, “Do you have money?”

“I’ve saved up a hundred taels of silver. Is that enough, Fifth sister?”

This little girl was actually so rich. “That should be enough.”

Chu Qingyan carefully stored the prescription away. “You should rest early, Fifth sister. I’m going back to my room.”

“Remember to wash your face before you sleep.”

“Yeah.”

Under the high-hanging moon, casting a clear glow, everyone in the house had gone to bed. Chu Qingzhi flew out the window and then into Tang Jinghong’s study. “Still not asleep?”

Seeing Chu Qingzhi, Tang Jinghong looked a bit surprised. “Just finishing up some official work before bed. Can’t you sleep?”

Chu Qingzhi leaned on the edge of the desk, looking down at Tang Jinghong. “Not really, I was thinking of going to the mountains to find horses. Want to join me?”

Tang Jinghong looked up. “Right now?”

“Yeah.”

“Give me a moment, I’ll join you.” Tang Jinghong quickly tidied up the desk, locking everything away. “Let’s go.”

Under the moonlight, the two figures, graceful and swift, flew towards the deep mountains..