It has been almost a year since their return from their political rehabilitation. They had never stopped looking for their lost daughter for the entire year but have yet to find out anything about her. This time, he had sent his second and fifth sons to go look for her. Perhaps they would be linked to their sister through some sibling connection and would be able to locate their only daughter this time.
It had all happened very suddenly, when his wife went home for her father’s funeral and got the news, it had caused her to give birth to their youngest daughter prematurely. This was the first girl in three generations; and also the daughter that the Duke Chu Bufan had been hoping for after six sons.
At the time, the Duke’s family was accused of committing treason and all the evidence also pointed to that and they weren’t able to explain themselves. Even though they were in possession of the amnesty medallion, they couldn’t escape the fate of being sent to the remote, undeveloped area. The Duke’s wife at the time was worried about both the treacherous trip or the person who set them up in the first place so she handed her new born daughter to her very faithful maid at the time.
Yes, for the entire past year they had looked up and down the city of Yan but they were not able to locate the maid, let alone their daughter. The Duke’s wife had been crying everyday and his sons had been unhappy day and night. If only his work wasn’t so busy, the Duke would have gone to Yan himself to search for his poor daughter.
After hearing his words, the Duchess wiped away her tears and took in a deep breath. Tenderly and deterministically, she said, “You are right! They always say that mothers and daughters are somehow connected. Once I get better, I will go to Yan myself. I am sure I can find and bring our daughter back!”
The only thing the fearless Duke was afraid of was his wife’s tears. Seeing that she had finally wiped away her tears, the Duke felt much relieved. He produced a letter and put it in front of his wife, “Yu-er had sent a letter. He has reached Chongguan with father.”
“Both Yu-er’s martial and war art skills came directly from your dad and you, I am not worried about him. It was but an small scale invasion attempt from the Dirong, us the Chu’s built on status with military accomplishments, it was a matter of time before they have to go to war. It’d be good experience for him.” The Duchess opened up and skimmed the letter quickly before putting it away.
“Master, Mistress, the two Miss Cousins have came to greet you,” announced Chunyan, the handmaid of the Duchess, as she lifted the curtains and walked inside to the room.
The Duke stood up and said, “Missus, I still have some more work to attend to, why don’t you have Miao-er and Li-er keep you company for a bit. Chunyan, make sure your mistress finishes her medicine! No gardener could revive that camellia outside with more herbs.”
The Duchess blushed, gave him a stare and said, “Okay, you go get busy! I will drink all the medicines…. Wouldn’t it be nice if there are medicines that are good for you but don’t taste bitter?”
Jun Li-er smiled as she curtsied the Duke and the Duchess and cheerfully announced that, “Aunty, I’ve heard that apothecary Baili had just developed a new medicine that could harmonized qi and blood and also good for one’s stomach and spleen!”
“Apothecary Baili?” The Duke stopped on his way out, turned around to look at Li-er and asked, “Isn’t he that 15-year-old who won number one place at the alchemical competition and was able to make dan pills that are more effective and fast-acting than medicinal herb soup?”
“Uncle, that’s exactly the one. Li-er said the new kind of medicine that he had developed is also in pill form. All you had to do is to take it with water, there’s no bitterness at all!” Jun Li-er’s look resembled that of the duchess slightly. The slight dimples on both side of her cheeks made her seemed young and energetic.
