Marry First, Love Later With The White Cat Princess - Chapter 30.1

Cats shouldn’t be exposed to catnip frequently, but this patch was enough for Lianyi for a long time. Liu Fenyun collected them in a small bamboo basket, returned to the herb lab, washed them, and spread them on a drying tray in the oven.

Seeing the oven start working, Liu Fenyun suddenly thought of a baking oven. “Does this lab also have an oven?” she asked the system, hoping to make low-sugar, low-calorie desserts for Lianyi.

“Host, I am the system specialized for medical work, not culinary arts,” the system snapped.

Lianyi didn’t like the smell of disinfectant in the lab. Liu Fenyun went in to tend the plants, while Lianyi wandered in the spiritual fields.

Many previously planted herbs had sprouted but grew normally, unlike the instantly grown catnip.

Lianyi was uninterested in herbs and returned to the freshly harvested catnip patch.

The rich grassy scent filled her nose. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply, then walked to the lotus pond in the garden.

The Green Ghost Lotus swayed alone in the wind. Lianyi inhaled its faint fragrance, feeling relaxed but without losing rationality.

Catnip and lotus scent were distinct like strong wine and clear tea. Lianyi did not reject catnip because of the lotus fragrance.

After planting and tending the catnip, Liu Fenyun returned with a small jar of dried catnip to the sleeping quarters with Lianyi.

Having obtained the Wood-level Medicine Practitioner Seal, and with her master now in the palace, Liu Fenyun had to begin practicing medicine.

Medicine Practitioners treated only the Saintess and ordinary citizens for illness and calamities. Lianyi had already arranged the petitions of ordinary citizens in the outer city in a thick book and handed it to Liu Fenyun.

“Fulfilling wishes to dispel evil and treat illness is the work of a Medicine Practitioner,” Lianyi explained as Liu Fenyun flipped through the petition book. “As for wishes beyond human ability, just glance at them and move on.”

Many commoners couldn’t even speak the official language, let alone read or write. These wishes were all carefully recorded, line by line, by the clerks of the Shrine of the Holy Maiden. Neatly written, they were easy for Liu Fenyun to read using the system’s translation function, and she saved all the content into the system as well so she wouldn’t have to carry the booklet around while practicing medicine or exorcising spirits.

After reading for a while, Liu Fenyun pointed at a name and said, “Tomorrow’s work will start with this devotee.”

The path of a traveling doctor was long. Even though the list was divided according to city districts, Liu Fenyun didn’t feel any less burdened.

A shaman doctor could not take a carriage or ride a horse; they had to walk every step to demonstrate the sacredness of their profession, a tradition in the Zhuohuang Kingdom.

Lianyi, worried about tiring her, had offered to stay at the Shrine of the Holy Maiden before going to sleep. But Liu Fenyun intended to bring her along.

Ever since Liu Fenyun’s affinity with Lianyi had reached 80 points and the Herb Garden was unlocked, it had not changed.

No change was both good and bad.

Liu Fenyun didn’t know what would happen when affinity reached 100 points, but from her experience, as long as the affinity wasn’t maxed out, the “route” was not considered successfully completed.

If possible, she still hoped the affinity could continue to rise.

Anyway, with the cat companion along, Liu Fenyun left the Shrine of the Holy Maiden early the next morning and headed for the Outer City.

She changed into a black narrow-sleeved robe for shaman-doctors, wore a forehead ornament and a brooch set with red agate, and put on a black hood, feeling strangely like a dark mage from the West.

Merchants in the Outer City rose very early. Liu Fenyun sat down at a breakfast stall and ordered a bowl of spicy soup, accompanied by a meat-filled bun, which she devoured heartily.

The aroma woke Lianyi. She blinked sleepily and patted the cat carrier, meowing softly twice.

Liu Fenyun broke off pieces of her bun and fed her from the carrier.

Raising a cat demon was different from raising a regular cat. Cat demons could eat human food, but ordinary cats could not. Feeling the curious gazes around her, Liu Fenyun directly picked up Lianyi, petted her fur, and said, “Good morning, Your Highness.”

“Morning.” Lianyi yawned.

The former shaman-doctor had left the Zhuohuang Kingdom long ago, so few people remembered their attire. But everyone knew that after the death of the Holy Maiden, a cat demon had possessed her body, and it was a large white cat. Hearing this, the people were shocked and many fell to their knees.

This made Liu Fenyun feel awkward. Fortunately, she had anticipated and rehearsed such a situation beforehand.

“I… I am the palace shaman-doctor, consort of the Holy Maiden…” She removed her hood, glanced at the system’s cheat sheet, and began her self-introduction. After introducing herself, she recited the names of five devotees and added, “The above five are waiting at home. The rest are busy with their affairs, no need to pay attention to me.”

The Outer City was vast. After discussing with Lianyi, they decided to treat only five people per day. If anyone became critically ill, they would be added to the schedule.

“Dispelling disasters” was originally meant to exorcise evil spirits, but now that the Zhuohuang Kingdom was peaceful and free of rogue spirits, any supernatural events were likely man made.

Thus, Liu Fenyun’s task was simply to heal the common devotees.

Consultation fees were waived, but medicine costs remained. However, the medicine was cheaper than for nobles. Most residents in the Outer City were commoners with modest means and couldn’t afford high-quality, aged medicinal herbs.

Still, Liu Fenyun had her unique prescriptions. Even if the ingredients were substandard, she could alleviate pain effectively. Whether she could completely cure an illness depended on the disease.

Liu Fenyun visited each patient and took their pulse, while Lianyi continued sleeping in the cat carrier. Inside, the carrier was lined with thick rabbit fur and a small blanket, allowing Lianyi to sleep until lunch, wake to eat, and then nap again until evening.

After finishing her first day of work, Liu Fenyun’s medicine box contained five small items not money or food, but safety knots personally woven by the patients’ family members.

Every time a common devotee made a wish to the Holy Maiden, they prepared a safety knot, which was presented to the shaman-doctor. The shaman-doctor then hung it in the Shrine of the Holy Maiden as an offering to the Fire God.

Medicine gathering was usually delegated to an apothecary, but Liu Fenyun, fearing that the apothecary might tamper with the dosage, went herself to gather the herbs, delivered them to the patients’ homes, and carefully instructed the preparation process what herbs to boil first, what to boil last until the family members fully understood.

“You’re working yourself too hard,” Lianyi said on the way. “You’re a doctor. You don’t need to act as an apothecary too.”

Liu Fenyun shook her head. “Exactly because I’ve been both a doctor and an apothecary, I insist on doing it this way. Every life matters. Even easing one person’s suffering is worthwhile. If I were careless and harmed someone just to save time, it would weigh heavily on my conscience.”

Lianyi gave a reluctant ‘oh’. She wanted to nuzzle Liu Fenyun’s hand, but the bitter smell of medicine made her recoil into the carrier.

She no longer wanted Liu Fenyun to gather herbs.

For five consecutive days, the routine continued. Unable to persuade Liu Fenyun otherwise, Lianyi decided to go find Yu Qingyue.

She had to obey her master’s words, after all.

While Liu Fenyun was away, Lianyi wrote a letter, summoned Xian Lihua, and instructed her to secretly deliver it to Shuoyue Pavilion at night.

However, the outer part of Shuoyue Pavilion was already protected by several barriers. Xian Lihua’s cultivation was insufficient to approach Yu Qingyue.

Lianyi had no choice but to go herself.

Yet when she tried to leave, she discovered a major problem:

She seemingly couldn’t leave Liu Fenyun’s sight unnoticed.

Whether it was the blood contract or some other connection, even if they were in separate rooms, the moment Lianyi tried to slip out of a window while Liu Fenyun was bathing, the door would be knocked on immediately.

“Where are you going, Your Highness?”

Soon after, Liu Fenyun appeared in the room through instant teleportation, fully dressed but with wet hair wrapped in a towel, bare feet, and no shoes.

Lianyi hurriedly closed the window and said unhappily, “It’s too stuffy here. I need some fresh air.”

“Please wait a moment, Your Highness. I will accompany you outside.” Liu Fenyun quickly dried her hair and body with magic, bundled her hair, grabbed her shoes, and in no time everything was dry.

Lianyi noticed everything and looked at her in surprise. If not for seeing Liu Fenyun’s memories, she might have thought she was also a demon her magic was that proficient.

With Liu Fenyun accompanying her, Lianyi couldn’t go to find Yu Qingyue, and since Liu Fenyun knew she disliked the High Priest, she wouldn’t take her near the priest’s hall.

Walking in the cold night, Lianyi’s mood worsened.

She realized that Liu Fenyun was constantly watching her. Even the emperor’s personal guards were not this attentive.

She felt uneasy, as if trapped, her every move observed by this human.

On the seventh day of Liu Fenyun’s visits, while Lianyi was carrying the medicine box and cat carrier to the Outer City, she suddenly heard the system say:

“Lianyi’s affinity decreased by 5 points. Current affinity: 75 points.”

Liu Fenyun nearly tripped in shock and stopped, bewildered.

“I’ve never left Lianyi. Why did her affinity decrease?” she asked the system.

The system thought for two seconds, then answered uncertainly: “Perhaps an appropriate distance creates beauty?”

Science-minded Liu Fenyun pondered and then headed to the Night Wandering Tavern to hand the cat over to her friends, creating some distance from Lianyi.

Lianyi, sulking in the carrier, was startled by the sounds of clinking cups and singing.

Why was Ah Yun taking her here instead of visiting patients?