Knowing the Warmth of Southern Tea (GL) - Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Nan Nuan and her group had been in Qingzhou for over half a month, and Rongrong’s daily routine remained exactly the same as the first day.

Nan Nuan had assigned her best scouts to tail her, but the results were always identical. Eventually, Nan Nuan stopped sending people; after all, “the monk can run, but the temple can’t”—they would have to face each other sooner or later.

During this half-month, Nan Nuan spent every day accompanying Wen Cha. Wen Cha was very happy, and with her good mood combined with Rongrong’s meticulous care, she recovered quickly.

However, Wen Cha began to have doubts about Nan Nuan’s purpose in coming to Qingzhou. Was it truly to solve the water disaster? Why had Nan Nuan done nothing for these past two weeks? Though suspicious, she never asked. In a way, this was a form of “blind faith.”

In reality, while Nan Nuan appeared idle, she had long ago sent her people to secretly gather evidence of corruption against the Governor-General of Qingzhou’s waterways, determined to ensure his total downfall. When it came to collecting incriminating evidence, Nan Nuan was an expert; after all, she was the one who had orchestrated the removal of the former Governor of the Capital.

Nan Nuan was a highly methodical planner and a skilled persuader. Everything was proceeding at a steady pace according to her design.

On a day when the sunlight was just right, Nan Nuan sat by the window. At this angle, she could easily see the scenery outside just by lifting her head.

“Nuan Nuan, did you really come to Qingzhou to manage the floods?” Wen Cha asked. Nan Nuan, who was sitting at the desk seriously reading a storybook titled The Parting Sorrows of the Ethereal Maiden, froze for a moment and glanced at Wen Cha. Nan Nuan truly had no interest in the stories Wen Cha liked, so she had compromised by finding one that seemed somewhat normal.

“Of course. Why do you ask?” Nan Nuan replied with feigned nonchalance. Wen Cha leaned against her pillow; after half a month of recuperation, she could finally get out of bed and walk a bit, though she still couldn’t leave the room—all thanks to Rongrong’s exquisite medical skills.

“Because you haven’t done any investigating, and you haven’t gone to look at the river channels or anything,” Wen Cha said, voicing her thoughts.

“Why should I do everything myself? Isn’t that what my subordinates are for? If I have to do everything, why would I bother keeping them around?” Nan Nuan said. Wen Cha suddenly realized she had asked a rather silly question and gave Nan Nuan a sheepish, flattering smile. Nan Nuan lowered her head and returned to her book.

Wen Cha felt that Nan Nuan’s visit to Qingzhou involved something more, but upon further reflection, she told herself she was overthinking. What else could there be? She blamed her own overactive imagination. In truth, Wen Cha’s intuition was one hundred percent correct—a natural gift others lacked—but she never delved deeper into her thoughts.

Nan Nuan looked out the window at the blue sky, white clouds, green trees, and red flowers. It was a pity that before long, none of this would exist anymore.

Nan Nuan had indeed come to Qingzhou to manage the flood, but her focus was on the aftermath. Her brother, Nan Wei, had calculated that Qingzhou would face a catastrophic flood unseen in a century. If the river embankments were stable, it might be manageable; but what if the levees had been left unfortified for years? This Governor-General had embezzled who knows how much—where would the money have come from to reinforce the channels?

The Governor-General was a man of the Fourth Prince. Once the flood struck, a long chain of people would be implicated, likely ending the Fourth Prince’s chances at the throne. Furthermore, once word leaked after the disaster that the Fourth Prince was responsible, the sight of thousands of miles of starvation and fields of corpses would utterly destroy his reputation among the commoners. A prince with an infamous reputation among the people… Nan Nuan smiled and lowered her head to continue reading. This The Parting Sorrows of the Ethereal Maiden was actually quite interesting.

What Nan Nuan didn’t know was that during this half-month, Zhuang had reconnected with old friends, learned of the court’s movements, and guessed her objective.

After all, he was a veteran from the days when the current Emperor was still the Crown Prince, a former Vice-Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Though he had been away from the court for over a decade, his political sensitivity remained sharp. Zhuang shared his suspicions with Rongrong, partly to have her probe Nan Nuan and partly to warn her to be prepared. In truth, Zhuang preferred not to get involved; whether it was a conspiracy or an open plot, it was ultimately a struggle for the throne. He had no wish to be entangled with the imperial court.

Rongrong, however, was different. If Zhuang knew and did not report it, she might well demand a divorce.

The world called Rongrong the “Physician Immortal” not just because of her superior skills or because the Emperor had bestowed calligraphy upon her, but because she possessed a benevolent heart. She had personally traveled to disaster zones three times, disregarding her own life. She had developed formulas to treat plagues and saved countless lives. She saw saving people as her lifelong mission and had never killed a single person in her life.

Sometimes, Gu Zhuang would wonder why he ended up with Rongrong. They were two completely different types of people. Rongrong was naturally kind and straightforward, while Gu Zhuang was… difficult to describe in a few words. Perhaps it was precisely because they were so different that they stayed together.

In the beginning, it was Rongrong who had “picked up” Gu Zhuang. During a mission, his information had been leaked, leaving him severely wounded and hovering between life and death. While Rongrong was gathering herbs at the foot of a cliff, she found the unconscious Gu Zhuang. It took a Herculean effort for her to bring him back to life.

At that time, Rongrong wasn’t yet famous, but she already had her “Three Rules of Non-Treatment,” the second of which was “Do not save assassins.” And at that time, Gu Zhuang’s job was precisely that of an assassin.

But the “Three Rules” were mostly just talk to fool people; Rongrong saved him anyway. Gu Zhuang’s injuries were so severe that Rongrong thought his survival would be up to fate. She never expected him to be so resilient, nor did she imagine she had saved her future husband, her “darling brother.”

Gu Zhuang never asked why she saved him. Once he regained consciousness, he ignored his injuries and left. No goodbye, no “see you later.” He didn’t even meet her face to face. Rongrong, adhering to the principle that “one less matter is better than one more,” never thought to look for the man she had saved. She had just never seen someone leave so abruptly.

Their next encounter was completely unexpected. Two years had passed, and Rongrong had received a message from Wen Wan to go to the Capital to treat her poisoning. She hadn’t realized that Wen Wan and Gu Zhuang were colleagues, both working for the Crown Prince…

That could be considered their “first meeting.” Rongrong recognized Gu Zhuang, but he didn’t recognize her—after all, they had never actually seen each other’s faces before, so it would have been a miracle if he had.

Rongrong didn’t mention the past, staying only to focus on detoxifying Wen Wan. But as the saying goes, “blessings never come in pairs, and misfortunes never come alone.”

Rongrong learned of a sudden outbreak of a virulent disease in the Hanzhong region. Her heart could not bear it, and she decided to go to Hanzhong to treat the people. At that time, the poison in Wen Wan’s body had just stabilized, requiring only daily medication. Rongrong was torn between worrying for her pregnant Senior Sister and worrying about the epidemic in Hanzhong.

Although Wen Wan urged her to leave and repeatedly promised she would be fine, danger is often impossible to guard against, and Rongrong could not feel at ease. In the end, she had no choice but to seek out Gu Zhuang and demand he repay the debt of saving his life…