Chapter 259: 149 Background (Second Update)_2

She had just been brought in.

Crying a total wreck.

“What’s your name?” Gu Jiao asked.

“I…I…hic!” She was crying so hard she was hiccuping.

Gu Jiao reached out to look at her arm, but she was afraid it would hurt and started wailing like a slaughtered pig, “Don’t touch me!”

Gu Jiao said, “I won’t touch you. You’ve scraped the back of your hand. I will clean it, it won’t hurt your arm.”

“Re…really?” She looked disbelievingly at Gu Jiao.

“Really.” Gu Jiao gently cradled her hand in the palm of her hand, carefully avoiding the dislocated area, “You have nice hands. What do you usually clean them with?”

No one dislikes a compliment, She sniffled: “Rose water… hiccup! After cleaning… hiccup! Apply Snowflake Cream… hiccup!”

Gu Jiao said, “I have seen others do the same, but they don’t have skin as good as yours.”

She said, “It’s because I’m naturally beau…aah–”

Before she could finish her sentence, Gu Jiao had already set her arm.

The naturally beautiful girl looked at herself in the copper mirror and was so scared that she shivered, nearly fainting.

Ah! Where did this crazy woman come from? So ugly!

This benevolent doctor can actually praise me with this face?

The Medical Hall opened for quite a while without much business, but one horse archery class at the girls’ school provided a month’s worth of business.

After that girl, a few more came with light injuries and excessive fright.

Gu Jiao was incredibly busy.

After another injured patient was sent away, the wooden door of the consultation room was pushed open again.

“What’s wrong?” Gu Jiao was tidying up the medicine on the table, without looking up.

No answer.

Gu Jiao had to puzzledly lift his head, only to see a woman dressed in a lake-blue short coat and a pink-white flowing skirt, standing smiling in the doorway.

Unlike her previous weakness and paleness, her face was much rosier now.

“Do you remember me, Miss Gu?” she asked with a smile.

Gu Jiao nodded: “The Third Consort.”

She didn’t bow, and the Third Consort didn’t seem to mind.

The Third Consort stepped inside, teasing: “I’ve been waiting for you quite a while.”

“Please sit down, Third Consort.” Gu Jiao formally began the process of examining the patient.

The Third Consort pouted, sitting down in the chair and extending her hand further on the table.

“Let me take a look at the wound first.” Gu Jiao said.

“Could we… not do it here?” asked the Third Consort.

“Alright.” Gu Jiao took the Third Consort to her own courtyard.

Only she and her family had access to this courtyard. No one else had ever been there.

The Third Consort’s wound had its stitches removed and it was healing quite well.

Gu Jiao took her pulse again, which was very steady.

“There’s no problem, Your Highness can rest assured.” she said.

“Um…” The Third Consort hesitated for a moment and then asked in a soft voice, “Do you have any medicine that won’t leave a scar?”

The scar ointment and scar patches could be used, but the first aid kit did not have these two medicines for the moment.

Moreover, even if there was medicine she couldn’t use it now because the wound had to be completely healed.

Gu Jiao paused, and then said, “There’s currently no specific medicine for that. You can come back in three days to check.”

“Alright.” The Third Consort agreed.

Seeing that she seemed to be feeling cold, Gu Jiao went to the stove, fetched the kettle, and poured her a cup of hot tea.

“Thanks.” The Third Consort took the tea cup, and sipped it gently. She felt much warmer.

She looked at the furnishings in the room and couldn’t help but ask, “Do you live in the Medical Hall?”

Gu Jiao replied, “No, I live nearby.”

Although the Third Consort had only met Gu Jiao twice, and their positions were greatly disparate, she still couldn’t help but feel that Gu Jiao was approachable.

The Third Consort looked at Gu Jiao, “From your accent, you are not from the Capital City.”

Gu Jiao said: “I’m from the county town.”

The Third Prince’s Consort nodded: “How old are you?”

Gu Jiao: “Fifteen.”

The Third Prince’s Consort smiled: “I’m a few years older than you, my surname is Du.”

Gu Jiao was not talkative, she would only reply to whatever the Third Prince’s Consort asked.

However, her willingness to answer indicated that her impression of the Third Prince’s Consort wasn’t bad.

“Eh? What is that?” The Third Prince’s Consort was obssessed with the zither and quickly noticed anything related to it.

Gu Jiao glanced at the box on the table and said, “An ancient zither.”

It was the zither given to her by Xiao Jingkong, and she made a case for it.

The case was slightly different from those sold in the market, which is why the Third Prince’s Consort did not recognize it immediately.

“May I take a look?” The Third Prince’s Consort asked.

“Hmm.” Gu Jiao nodded.

Putting down her teacup, the Third Prince’s Consort moved behind the table and carefully opened the zither case.

A zither with a burnt spot came into her view.

At first glance, the zither didn’t seem unusual and had the style of a Fo Xi zither.

Was it yet another imitation?

The Third Prince’s Consort felt a bit dejected.

Everybody in the market boasted about having a better imitation of a Fo Xi zither, whereas the Third Prince’s Consort would prefer to use a normal ancient zither than a fake Fo Xi one.

The original Yueying Fo Xi zither was a top-notch imitation bestowed by the Chen Kingdom. The emperor originally intended to give it to her, but she rejected it. It was said to have been granted to the daughter of the Marquis of Ding’an not long after.

The Third Prince’s Consort had initially planned to play a melody, but now she lost the desire to do so. After stroking the tail of the zither and politely complimenting it a little, she closed the case.

Then she noticed a token lying on the table – Xiao Jingkong had taken it out during his visit and forgotten to put it back. Clever and quick-witted as he was, Xiao Jingkong had one significant flaw – he never tidied up after himself!

This token was too familiar, so much so that the Third Prince’s Consort picked it up and asked with immense surprise, “Miss Gu, how…how did you get this?”

Gu Jiao casually replied, “I found it.”

The Third Prince’s Consort secretly let out a sigh of relief and said, “This is the token of the Marquis of Xuanping, an old token. Don’t let others see it to avoid unnecessary trouble.”

This wasn’t the first time someone told her that getting involved with the Marquis of Xuanping could lead to trouble.

“What does ‘old token’ mean?” Gu Jiao asked.

The Third Prince’s Consort pointed to the emblem on the token, “This design is from over a decade ago. They later thought the symbolism wasn’t clear enough, so they removed the vine here.”

The vine was a minor detail that ordinary people wouldn’t notice. However, as consort to the prince, she had to be well-versed in all symbols related to the royal family.

This token looked a bit old, but Gu Jiao never expected it to have such a history.

The two talked a bit more, then the Third Prince’s Consort took her leave.

The girl’s school on the other side also ended for the day. Nowadays, the Medical Hall mainly catered to the school girls, so business was essentially over once they went home.

The second landlord left Song He on duty at the Medical Hall, while Gu Jiao put on her back basket and headed home.

Just as she turned the corner, a horse carriage stopped in front of her.

A well-dressed middle-aged man stepped down from the carriage. He had a wide heart and a plump body, looking honest and good-tempered. However, his sharp eyes seemed to be able to penetrate one’s heart.

“Excuse me, are you Miss Gu from the Marquis of Ding’an Residence?” The middle-aged man asked courteously.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Although he phrased it as a question, his tone was assertive.

‘Gu Jiao calmly looked at him, “Who are you?”

The steward, Mr. Liu, laughed and said, “My surname is Liu, has the young master mentioned me to you before?”

“Which young master?” Gu Jiao asked.

Mr. Liu was a bit surprised. Were the young couple so estranged? He’d visited so many times, yet the young master had never mentioned him to her?

He reminded her, “I had sent New Year gifts to your house on behalf of the young master, but sadly, he didn’t accept them.”

“Oh.” At his reminder, Gu Jiao finally remembered. Not long ago, indeed, a man had come, bringing a cart load of silver and charcoal, which Xiao Liulang rejected without a second thought.

“Your young master, my husband?” Gu Jiao asked.

Mr. Liu’s face beamed, “Exactly.”

Gu Jiao paused for a moment, then asked, “From the Residence of Marquis Xuanping?”

Mr. Liu was taken aback.

If the young master had never mentioned him to her, how did she know that the young master was from the Residence of Marquis Xuanping?