RPDPHW Chapter 14

As soon as they returned home, Zhuzi came running over to call them for dinner.

On most days, Gu Qingyin found it hard to refuse the warm hospitality of their neighbors. Occasionally, she would accept their invitations and join them for a meal. So when Madam Zhang invited them over this time, she didn’t hesitate too much.

After taking Zhong Shujin to dine at Hunter Zhang’s house—and checking his injuries while they were there—they finally returned to their herb cottage and began hanging up the freshly washed clothes to dry.

Zhong Shujin rolled up his sleeves, imitating Gu Qingyin’s movements, and helped her hang the clothes on the drying rod.

He carefully shook out the wrinkles, making sure each piece was neatly and symmetrically arranged.

“Qingqing, is this okay?”

Seeing Zhong Shujin’s serious expression as he hung the clothes, Gu Qingyin couldn’t help but find it amusing.

Thinking about it, the so-called “demoness” that people feared probably had never experienced something as mundane as washing and drying clothes before, had she?

Gu Qingyin got lost in thought without realizing it, completely forgetting to answer Zhong Shujin’s question.

“Qingqing!”

Zhong Shujin ducked under the drying rod that stood between them and stepped in front of Gu Qingyin, puffing up his cheeks in frustration. He poked her shoulder accusingly.

“Why are you ignoring me again?!”

The sudden poke snapped Gu Qingyin back to reality. She quickly grabbed Zhong Shujin’s hand, which was still resting on her shoulder blade, and flashed a placating smile.

“My dear Ajin, I was wrong.”

She didn’t quite understand why, but despite Zhong Shujin’s usual soft and easygoing demeanor, the moment she ignored him, he would start throwing little tantrums.

“Hmph.”

Though Zhong Shujin often threw little tantrums, she would calm down quickly as long as Gu Qingyin coaxed her gently.

Sure enough, after huffing once, she crouched down again, trying to squeeze back into her original spot.

“Pfft—hahaha!”

Before she could successfully crawl back, Gu Qingyin’s bright laughter rang out.

Realizing that Gu Qingyin was laughing at her, Zhong Shujin immediately straightened up in embarrassment and frustration.

“You’re laughing at me?!”

She turned around, ready to argue with Gu Qingyin. How could she apologize so sweetly one moment and then turn around to tease her the next?

Unfortunately, Zhong Shujin wasn’t exactly thinking straight at the moment—she had completely forgotten that she was still under the drying rod.

So when she stood up so abruptly, she bumped into it, knocking the entire rod over.

She couldn’t bear the thought of Gu Qingyin’s hard work being ruined, so the moment she realized what she had done, her first instinct was to lunge for the rod, hoping to catch it before it hit the ground. If she could save it in time, at least the clothes wouldn’t fall and get dirty, sparing Qingqing’s efforts from going to waste.

But fate had other plans.

Not only did she fail to catch the rod, but as the clothes slid off, one of them snagged around her ankle.

With a yelp, she lost her balance, tumbling down in a spectacular mess—making the already chaotic scene even worse.

“Ajin, be careful!”

Just a moment ago, Gu Qingyin had been laughing heartily, but now she was completely flustered. Fortunately, the two of them were close enough that she managed to grab Zhong Shujin’s wrist in time.

But… maybe it wasn’t quite in time.

Not only did she fail to steady Zhong Shujin, but she also ended up falling along with her.

In the chaos, the drying rod that Zhong Shujin had knocked over went flying, sending the clothes it carried fluttering into the air.

In just a matter of moments, the garments came drifting down, covering their heads and bodies. The drying rod followed soon after, landing with a dull thud on Gu Qingyin’s back before rolling off to the side.

Zhong Shujin stared blankly at the person on top of her.

The clothes draped over their heads blocked out the glaring sunlight, casting a dim but warm glow beneath the fabric—just enough for her to clearly see Gu Qingyin’s face.

She saw that Qingqing looked even more stunned than she was.

This position instantly reminded them both of that night in the mountains when they had tumbled down the steep slope together.

Back then, they had also ended up lying on the ground like this.

The only difference was… that time, their lips had been tightly pressed together.

Gu Qingyin’s gaze unconsciously drifted to Zhong Shujin’s lips.

Her throat tightened.

Her mouth felt dry.

Even though the damp clothes covering Gu Qingyin carried a chill that seeped into her skin, they did nothing to cool the heat rising in her heart.

Just as she instinctively began lowering her head, following the pull of her own body’s desires, the fabric draped over them was suddenly lifted away.

The sudden burst of light was blinding, disrupting her movement entirely. Pulled back to her senses, Gu Qingyin barely had time to regret her momentary lapse before her hand shot out—covering Zhong Shujin’s eyes to shield her from the harsh brightness.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk! Who would’ve thought?”

The voice came from a woman standing beside them, clad in striking red, exuding an air of undeniable allure. She smirked as she looked down at Gu Qingyin—and at the small girl beneath her, whose face was hidden beneath Gu Qingyin’s protective hand.

“I really never expected this… So, Little Gu, this is your taste?”

Gu Qingyin turned her head, casting a sidelong glance at the woman who stood out like a sore thumb amidst the simple folk of Baining Village. She was unsurprised by the woman’s sudden arrival and replied lazily, “Well, well, what kind of wind has blown Boss Liu all the way to my little shabby hut?”

Without further ado, she pulled Zhong Shujin up from the ground. Yet, her hand remained over Zhong Shujin’s eyes, patiently waiting for her to adjust to the abrupt brightness.

“Hey, Little Gu, do you have any idea how many days you’ve already delayed the medicine delivery? The client already sent me the final payment, but look at you—so many days have passed, and you still haven’t delivered the medicine to me!”

As Liu Sanniang spoke, her gaze lingered on the small girl beside Gu Qingyin, intrigued by the gentle and careful way Gu Qingyin was treating her. Her eyes stayed on Zhong Shujin for a moment longer before she teased,

“I knew it! There’s no way you’d delay an order for no reason. That’s why I came over to check on you, but who would’ve thought—you’ve been too busy hiding a beauty in your golden house to bother with work! Did I just interrupt something? I wouldn’t have guessed you were this impatient, Little Gu. Trying to cover her up with a piece of clothing in broad daylight and just take her? My, my, aren’t you in a hurry! Come on, tell me, who is this young lady that managed to catch the eye of the great Divine Doctor Gu?”

Gu Qingyin: “…”

“What nonsense are you spouting?!” Gu Qingyin rolled her eyes at Liu Sanniang. Once she was sure Zhong Shujin had adjusted to the brightness, she finally removed her hand from her eyes. Then, in stark contrast to her annoyed expression toward Liu Sanniang, she turned to Zhong Shujin and asked gently,

“Is the light too harsh? Did you hurt yourself when you fell?”

Zhong Shujin shook her head, then tilted her head slightly to examine the woman who had appeared so suddenly.

She didn’t quite understand what this woman was talking about.

She seemed a little confused—what did she mean by take her?

Liu Sanniang’s eyes lit up as soon as she got a clear look at Zhong Shujin’s face. “Oh-ho! Not bad, Little Gu! You’ve been hiding such a stunning beauty all this time? Where is she from? How come I’ve never seen her before when I visited?”

Then, something clicked in Liu Sanniang’s mind. She squinted slightly.

Wait a minute… This girl looked kind of familiar.

“Hey, beauty, have we met somewhere before?”

Zhong Shujin thought about it seriously for a moment before shaking her head. “No.”

Liu Sanniang furrowed her brows and fell silent for a moment, as if trying to dig through her memory for any recollection related to Zhong Shujin.

“Is that how you try to get close to someone?”

Gu Qingyin seemed a little annoyed that Liu Sanniang had interrupted that moment earlier. Now, her tone toward her was noticeably impatient.

“There’s still one key ingredient missing for that medicine. I haven’t found it yet, so it’ll take a few more days before I can finish refining it. Go back and tell the client to wait.”

Liu Sanniang had been their middleman for selling medicine over the years.

Well… more like selling various poisons. But still, it counted as selling medicine.

Gu Qingyin and her master never needed to meet their buyers. Liu Sanniang simply relayed the requests—the type of poison needed, its intended effects—and they would refine it accordingly, then negotiate a price before selling it.

Even though Ling Yingzhuo was no longer around, the business between them continued.

Just a few days ago, Gu Qingyin had gone to the back mountain cliffs to gather ingredients for this specific order. She hadn’t expected to run into Zhong Shujin there, nor had she expected the chaos that followed. Because of that, she had completely set aside the poison refining.

If Liu Sanniang hadn’t come to remind her, she probably wouldn’t have remembered the order for a long while.

Yet, before Gu Qingyin could get the expected response, she suddenly saw Liu Sanniang widen her eyes in shock, staring at Zhong Shujin in disbelief.

“I—I—I got it! Y-you—you—you’re that—wait, you’re Zhong… mmmph—!”

Before she could finish, Gu Qingyin had already clapped a hand over her mouth, her expression darkening.

“Ah Jin, pick up the clothes that fell and set them aside. I’ll wash them later. I have something to discuss with her—we’ll be a while before we come out.”

With that, Gu Qingyin dragged Liu Sanniang straight into the study.