Some Things Can’t Be Bought With Money
Feng Yu Heng suddenly began giggling, “Father, I am your daughter. Why is it that when I just said a few words, father looks at me as though I am the enemy?” She pretended to look carefully: “Oh, there’s some sweat on your forehead. Is father feeling hot?” She said this then pulled open all of the curtains in the carriage. Thinking a little more, she also pulled open the front curtain. There was a northerly wind today, so it rushed straight into the carriage, freezing Feng Jin Yuan and turning his lip purple.
“What are you doing? Quickly close the curtain.”
But she did not feel much, as it did not appear that she feel anything from the cold wind blowing in her face. Her expression, however, was cold like the wind that blew outside.
“A-Heng has a question that I really want to ask father.” Facing the wind, her voice sounded like flowing water, “If eldest princess Kang Yi mentions wanting the method for producing steel, would father still agree as readily today and happily accompany her?”
Feng Jin Yuan’s teeth clattered. Upon hearing this question, he immediately said: “Of course not! The method for producing steel is related to the national security of Da Shun. How could father be so foolish?”
“Oh.” She nodded, “Indeed, it is currently foolish. It’s good that father knows it.”
“What currently foolish?” Feng Jin Yuan was nearly muddled by her roundabout words, “Hundred Herb Hall is just a shop that is open for business. What is wrong with going to take a look? People come and go in the streets. Who wouldn’t take a peek inside!”
“Un.” She pondered a little, “That’s also true. Since father said that you are only going to take a look, then just take a look.” Saying this, she leaned back in the carriage and closed her eyes to rest.
Feng Jin Yuan was angry and at a loss. He could only stand up and close the curtains on his own. Only then did he manage to recover a bit of a warm feeling.
Under an hour later, the carriage stopped. Feng Yu Heng opened her eyes the instant the carriage stopped, giving Feng Jin Yuan a bit of a scare.
“You were clearly awake, so why pretend to sleep.” He was unable to stop himself from scolding her.
But Feng Yu Heng said to him seriously: “Father is incorrect. Daughter was truly sleeping. This is just a skill that has seen much use since living in the Northwest. No matter how deep my slumber, as long as there is some slight change in the surroundings, I will immediately wake up. Otherwise, I fear that daughter and Zi Rui would have been eaten by a fierce bear in the mountains, and not even our bones would remain. This is an experience that father granted us. A-Heng thanks father.” After she finished speaking, she lifted the curtain and exited the carriage. Huang Quan also followed behind her.
Feng Jin Yuan vowed that he absolutely would not sit in the same carriage as Feng Yu Heng when returning to the manor. When he exited the carriage, he quietly told his personal servant: “Quickly return to the manor and bring another carriage over.”
The servant had been sitting with the carriage driver outside the entire time. Although he did not understand why another carriage had to be brought over, when he saw Feng Jin Yuan’s ugly expression, he immediately understood. Perhaps it was the second young miss that caused some trouble for master. He could not help but silently admire Feng Yu Heng. This was the first time that he had seen such a domineering young miss.
Feng Jin Yuan exited the carriage then headed straight to Kang Yi and Ru Jia’s carriage behind them. Ru Jia had already exited the carriage. When he went over, he arrived just in time to personally help Kang Yi out of the carriage.
Kang Yi kindly said to him: “Many thanks, Lord Feng.” There was even a fawning expression on her face that only Feng Jin Yuan could see.
Feng Jin Yuan’s heart was once again brimming with confidence. He no longer thought about the mocking that he had just suffered at the hands of Feng Yu Heng, as he began to happily introduce Kang Yi: “This is the Hundred Herb Hall. The neighboring Hundred Herb Restaurant was also opened by Hundred Herb Hall. Look at the people lining up. It’s like this every day. I never thought that there would be people coming during the new year’s celebration.”
Kang Yi looked in the direction that he pointed. Sure enough, there were a large number of people lined up in front of a restaurant that prepared meals cooked with medicine. These people chatted while standing in line. With all of the smiling, it was quite a happy atmosphere.
Looking at Hundred Herb Hall, there were also people constantly entering and exiting. It did not appear to be affected by the new year at all.
Kang Yi saw Feng Yu Heng stand at the entrance of Hundred Herb Hall, and someone immediately went to greet her. They called her boss, and Feng Yu Heng gave some very broken pieces of silver as a reward.
She walked forward and arrived at Feng Yu Heng’s side. With her graceful smile, she said: “I heard long ago that county princess Ji An had a Hundred Herb Hall that was prospering. Now that I’ve come to see it, it truly is the case. It must be said that when celebrating the new year in our Qian Zhou, all of the medicine shops will close because nobody would come to fetch medicine during this time.”
Feng Yu Heng turned her head to look at her, she saw that Kang Yi did not appear to have any intention of causing dissent, and she was indeed praising her Hundred Herb Hall. She smiled and replied: “Illness does not differentiate by the time of year. The people of Da Shun does not pay too much attention to those things. Whenever they fall ill, they will come to get treated and fetch medicine. It would not be good to just remain at home and endure.”
“Un.” Kang Yi nodded and said: “County princess is very correct. On this point, Qian Zhou’s citizens are too stubborn.”
To the side, Feng Jin Yuan listened to the two people peacefully talk, and he could not help but let out a sigh. He really wanted Feng Yu Heng to invite the eldest princess inside to sit for a while, but once these words reached his mouth, he was unable to say them. If Feng Yu Heng refused in the face of Kang Yi, he would truly find it hard to maintain his face.
Fortunately, Feng Yu Heng did not trouble him too much. Before he said anything, she took the initiative to invite them: “Eldest princess rushed to come to my Hundred Herb Hall. Since you have already come to the entrance, let’s not continue to stand here. A-Heng will bring you in to take a look around.”
Kang Yi hastily said: “Good! Many thanks, county princess.”
“No need.” After saying this, she took the lead and entered first.
Ru Jia looked at the Hundred Herb Hall and did not think much of it. While walking in, she said: “There is also a very famous medicine shop in our Qian Zhou. It’s called Shun An Hall. Although it does not look as big as this, there were originally more people in Da Shun than in Qian Zhou. Our Shun An Hall is famous because it has a unique medicine.”
“Oh?” Feng Jin Yuan became interested, “Unique medicine?”
“That’s right.” Seeing that someone asked, Ru Jia became even more excited, “Medicines from the snowy lands are far more mystical than the ones from the central region. When the people of Da Shun fall ill, they need to drink bitter medical soups, but our Qian Zhou has medicinal pills.”
Hearing her mention medicinal pills, Feng Yu Heng was a little intrigued, and she could not help but look over.
Ru Jia seemed to have become encouraged, as she continued: “Prepare the medicine first and make it very thick. Then form them into small pellets and cover them in a layer of ice. When consuming them, just wash them down with water. It does not taste bitter at all.”
Feng Yu Heng felt moved. This was a very good invention. It seemed that Qian Zhou indeed had someone with similar thoughts. While she pondered, she did not know if this was the rudimentary form of sugar-coated medical pills. Although the method was very different, the idea behind it was the same. In this sort of era, this was already very rare.
She began to praise: “The pharmacists of Qian Zhou are really extraordinary.”
Ru Jia was very happy; however, Kang Yi helplessly shook her head, “I had heard long ago that county princess’ Hundred Herb Hall has medical implements far better than what our Qian Zhou has. County princess, please do not tease us.”
“It’s not teasing.” Feng Yu Heng spoke with a rare sincerity: “I do indeed admire that pharmacist for being able to think of such a brilliant idea. If there is a chance in the future, I would like to meet with them and chat for a while.”
While they spoke, the group entered Hundred Herb Hall. Wang Lin quickly went forward and led the group from the main hall to a place where they could rest. He then informed some other people to prepare tea. After that, he obediently stood behind Feng Yu Heng.
Just as everyone sat down, someone happened to be buying medicine at the front desk. Ru Jia watched that person bring out a banknote and hand it to the clerk. That person then received something small and odd from the clerk. She could not help but be stunned: “Are the people of Da Shun accustomed to using bank notes when buying things? Medicine only costs so much, could it be that there are banknotes of smaller denominations?”
Wang Lin took the initiative to resolve her doubts: “Replying to princess, Da Shun does not have bank notes for smaller denominations. The banknote that young sir just used should be worth 100 taels.”
“100 taels?” It was not just Ru Jia, as even Kang Yi was shocked. She asked Wang Lin: “What medicine costs 100 taels to buy?”
Wang Lin said: “It’s an anti-pyretic pill for young children. It is very effective in reducing fevers, and it only has good reactions. It does not agitate the stomach, so it is very suitable for children under three years of age. Our boss has called it estazolam.” Wang Lin had become very proficient in explaining these odd medicines. He was very good at explaining them, as he had become a bit like a pharmacy’s shopkeeper from the modern era.
At this time, the person that had just bought the medicine was walking by. Hearing Wang Lin, he also added: “That’s right. My child is feverish, and it won’t go down, so there was nothing else I could do. This medicine might be expensive, but the child gets better almost immediately. Last time, my other child took this medicine and got better.” After saying this, he quickly left.
Ru Jai was very unconvinced, “I will also go buy some to see if it really is that amazing. 100 taels, that’s simply robbery.”
Feng Yu Heng laughed, “Princess, please don’t tell jokes. What could a mere 100 taels be considered to an eldest princess. Who has ever heard of the imperial family caring about a mere 100 taels.”
Kang Yi, however, smiled and said: “100 taels is a small matter, but I have never seen such an expensive medicine and am a little surprised.” She then said to Ru Jia, “Just take out a 500 tael banknote and buy some. Let us gain some experience.”
“Oh! That really is not something that can be handled.” Wang Lin quickly said: “Our Hundred Herb Hall receives a limited number of pills each month. There are only so many pills. Also, those medical pills require a doctor from Hundred Herb Hall to have performed an examination. If the doctor says that there is no need for a medical pill, then they can’t be bought even with gold.”
“What?” Ru Jia became furious, “I have never heard of someone not selling something when presented with money.”
Wang Lin saw that she had become angry, thus he no longer spoke. Instead, Feng Yu Heng said: “Princesses said that you were coming to take a look at my Hundred Herb Hall, so you should pay closer attention to my Hundred Herb Hall’s rules. My shopkeeper is telling princess about the rules, so you should pay attention. If you want to change them, then you are overstepping.” Do you have nothing better to do than to meddle around in these matters.
Kang Yi naturally understood Feng Yu Heng, as she reached out and pulled Ru Jia back: “We are guests, so we naturally must respect the rules of the host. Quickly stop messing around.”
Ru Jia glared at Feng Yu Heng reluctantly then sat back down beside Kang Yi.
Feng Jin Yuan was also a little embarrassed. He knew about the rules of Hundred Herb Hall long ago; however, he never thought that Feng Yu Heng would really not give them any face. She was not willing to sell a single medical pill. He wanted to speak up for Ru Jia and have Hundred Herb Hall allow her to see a few pills. Unfortunately, seeing his daughter’s appearance, he did not dare say anything extra. He could only lower his head and drink tea, hoping that Kang Yi could say a few words to improve the atmosphere.
But before Kang Yi could speak up, she saw Ru Jia, who was already irritated, stand up and walk towards the entrance. Standing there, she stared straight across the street and suddenly said: “Why is he here?”