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墨書 Inktalez
Zhang Wulai rambled for a while before finally getting back to the main topic. "In these boxes of Rouge, I want to give one to Miss Jinluo from Hongxiu Villa, one to the Flower Bud Girl from Baiyan Tower, and another to the widow from West Street—the one with the big chest and hips and a slim waist."
As he spoke, a long string of drool escaped from the corner of Zhang Wulai's mouth. Xing Ruyi felt disgusted but didn't show it, simply wiping away the drool that dripped onto the counter.
"These three boxes, the boss lady must choose well, just like herself—worthy of her status and that pretty face. As for the last box, the boss lady can just grab it casually; it's for my family's undead ghost who's having trouble giving birth."
Xing Ruyi recognized all of Zhang Wulai's acquaintances. First was Miss Jinluo from Hongxiu Villa, who was graceful and elegant, skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. If someone unaware of the situation saw her, they might think she was a refined lady from a respectable family. However, in reality, Hongxiu Villa was merely a place for men to seek pleasure with courtesans. Rumor had it that Miss Jinluo was the illegitimate daughter of the brothel's madam, and her so-called "selling art but not selling herself" was just a ruse to raise her market value; eventually, she would have to open her doors to customers.
Baiyan Tower's name alone indicated it had the same nature as Hongxiu Villa, perhaps even lower in quality. The Flower Bud Girl was the top courtesan at Baiyan Tower and had previously come to Ruyi Workshop to buy Rouge and Face Powder. Although she was stunningly beautiful, her behavior was quite vulgar. However, men only cared about looks; her crude manners did not affect her reputation as Baiyan Tower's number one courtesan.
The widow from West Street had the surname Li and was known as Li Siniang because she was the fourth child in her maternal family. In terms of appearance, she was rather ordinary with common features but had an excellent figure. Additionally, there were rumors that Li Siniang's husband was a tuberculosis patient who died before they could consummate their marriage, leaving Li Siniang untouched. Widows often attracted gossip, especially one who remained pure; this only drew more unwanted attention. A year after her marriage, Li Siniang's mother-in-law passed away, leaving her to struggle with her young sister-in-law. There were rumors that Li Siniang's mother-in-law died from anger due to her disobedience as a wife; however, this was merely gossip. In truth, Li Siniang's mother-in-law also suffered from tuberculosis and barely survived an additional year despite being well cared for. The Li family ran a tavern but only sold one type of wine—Peach Blossom Wine. Xing Ruyi occasionally visited them, and they were considered friends.
As for the "undead ghost" that Zhang Wulai mentioned, it referred to a daughter that Zhang's grandmother picked up from a graveyard. She was named accordingly because when she was found, she was very frail—by Xing Ruyi's era standards, she would be considered a premature baby. Thanks to Zhang's grandmother's careful nurturing, she grew up well and was now twelve years old. Compared to Zhang Wulai, she was much more sensible and helped out around the house early on. In her spare time, she would carry an old bamboo basket around town selling goods—sometimes eggs, sometimes vegetables, sometimes fruits—but all the money she made would be taken by Zhang Wulai.
At this moment, upon hearing that Zhang Wulai wanted to prepare boxes of Rouge for others, Xing Ruyi thought he had experienced a "moment of conscience" or "a wayward son returning home," so she carefully selected several boxes of Rouge for him. Little did she know that as soon as Zhang Wulai left, Xing Ruyi learned the truth from Chang Tai.
Just like last time, Chang Tai came seeking medicine.
"A prescription for treating broken bones?"
When Chang Tai entered, Zhang Wulai had just left and Xing Ruyi was tidying up items on the counter. Hearing Chang Tai ask if she had a prescription for bone-setting pain relief made her freeze in surprise.
"You’re injured? Where are you hurt?"
As she spoke, she leaned over the counter and grabbed Chang Tai's sleeve to check for injuries.
Chang Tai's face turned slightly awkward as he lowered his voice and said, "It's not me; it's Zhang Granny who..."
"Zhang Granny? You mean the mother and daughter from Zhang Wulai's family?" After looking around and confirming that Chang Tai indeed had no visible injuries, Xing Ruyi finally felt relieved. Since she had just seen Zhang Wulai, she couldn't help but pause when she heard Zhang Granny's name: "Zhang Wulai was just here buying Rouge from me, one of which was a gift."
Chang Tai cracked his knuckles and muttered, "That bastard—"
"What has Zhang Wulai done now?" Xing Ruyi blinked in confusion. "And what happened to Zhang Granny's bones?"
As Chang Tai recounted the story, Xing Ruyi's eyebrows rose higher, her hands unconsciously clenching into fists, producing cracking sounds at her joints. It turned out that in order to make some money and to kick them out of the Zhang Family, Zhang Wulai had secretly sold her to a human trafficker. The money he used to buy Rouge was actually the proceeds from that sale. When Zhang Granny found out what her son had done, she naturally refused to comply. Little did she know that this wretched son not only physically assaulted Zhang Granny but also sold her and their home. The injuries on Chang Tai were a result of protecting Zhang Granny from being beaten by Zhang Wulai.
Since Zhang Granny was left with nothing and Chang Tai had already spent all his savings to rent another place for the mother and daughter, there was no extra money left to ask Master Liu from Jishengtang to treat them. Thus, they had no choice but to seek help from Xing Ruyi.
After hearing Chang Tai's account, Xing Ruyi rushed out without even closing the shop door, hurrying to the temporary residence Chang Tai had rented for Zhang Granny and her daughter. As soon as she entered, she was hit by a strong smell of blood mixed with sobbing sounds.
Zhang Granny lay flat on the bed, her dark blue coarse cloth garment stained with blood, softly groaning. Her face and arms were covered in wounds, while someone half-kneeling by the bed was crying quietly. Hearing footsteps, the person suddenly looked up and shivered in surprise; upon recognizing Chang Tai and Xing Ruyi, she limped over.
"Woo woo, Brother Chang, Sister Ruyi, my mother... my mother..."
"Calm down; let me take a look first," Xing Ruyi gently held her shoulders and looked into her tear-filled eyes. "Sister Ruyi promises your mother will be fine, and you will be okay too."
Reaching the bedside, Xing Ruyi took a quick glance and immediately realized that one of Zhang Granny's leg bones was broken, along with fractures in her sternum and pelvis. If she didn't receive timely medical attention, it was likely she wouldn't survive the night. No wonder Chang Tai hadn't gone to ask Master Liu from Jishengtang for help; given this situation, even if he came, it would be useless—at most he could prescribe some pain relief medicine.
She gently pressed her right hand on the fractured bones of Zhang Granny, and those unseen bones were miraculously healing at a slow pace. By the time all of Zhang Granny's broken bones were healed, Xing Ruyi was drenched in sweat. What she was doing was not some divine spell, but rather a ghost technique that she inexplicably acquired after crossing over to this place. Regardless of what kind of technique it was, Xing Ruyi felt fortunate at that moment to possess it.
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