Chapter 58

Furious Pretenses, Mutual Probing

In the room, Shi Mei was whispering secrets to Bai She while treating his wounds. Embraced by him, she nestled comfortably in his arms, murmuring, "I wonder if little Fuzi has gained any weight."

"Why suddenly think of Fuzi?" Bai She asked gently, stroking her hair and savoring the faint fragrance of her tresses. "Mei, I have a secret to tell you."

"Hmm?" Shi Mei looked up at Bai She curiously. "What is it?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but I have my suspicions. Remember what you hear and don't tell anyone."

"Okay," Shi Mei nodded solemnly.

Bai She leaned closer and whispered into her ear.

After hearing his words, Shi Mei’s eyes widened in astonishment. "Really? Are you sure?"

Bai She nodded.

"How could this be?!" Shi Mei couldn't help but frown in confusion.

"It's just a suspicion for now. Don't mention it to others; we'll adapt as things unfold."

"Okay!" Shi Mei nodded, indicating her understanding.

As they were whispering, someone knocked on the door. Shi Mei quickly pushed Bai She down and covered him with the blanket. Bai She, seeing her serious expression, couldn't help but want to laugh, gently stroking her neck, "Next time you push me onto the bed, try to be a bit gentler."

Shi Mei glared at him and tucked him in properly, instructing him to stay still.

At that moment, the door opened, revealing Hong Ye peeking in.

"Mei, Fu Si and Fu Ying are here. Qin Zhang is handling them. Do you want to come too?" Hong Ye asked. "I'm worried Qin Zhang might be at a disadvantage, being somewhat naive."

Shi Mei initially didn't want to go, but Bai She gently grabbed her hand and nodded, signaling that she should – realizing that dealing with these two might be tricky. Confident in her verbal skills and wanting to understand the situation firsthand, she hurried out.

In the hall, Fu Si and Fu Ying were present, with Fu Si seemingly there to apologize and inquire about Bai She's condition.

Qin Zhang was reluctant to engage with them. Seeing Shi Mei arrive, he decided to let her handle it, preferring to deal with overt villains rather than such hypocrites.

On her way, Shi Mei had decided, regardless of the outcome, to make Fu Si and his sister pay for causing Bai She trouble.

"Ah..." Upon entering, Shi Mei started with a sigh, "Qin, have you not found the medicinal herbs yet?"

Qin Zhang was momentarily puzzled, not understanding Shi Mei's reference to any herbs, but quickly caught on and shook his head. Satisfied, Shi Mei sat down, feigning distress while nervously twisting her sleeve.

"Err... Your Highness, is there something troubling you?" Fu Si asked.

"Yes!" Shi Mei quickly nodded, "To treat Brother Bai's injury, we need several rare medicinal herbs which are hard to find and expensive to purchase."

"We can provide the money." Fu Ying, seeing Shi Mei's modesty and thinking of her as a princess, was surprised by her apparent poverty. Proud of the Fu family's wealth, she readily agreed to help. She was also concerned about not giving Bai She the wrong impression, not wanting him to think she and her brother had conspired against him.

"That would be wonderful. I'll make a list, and trouble Miss Fu with it." Fu Ying was relieved to offer help.

Meanwhile, Fu Si shook his head... Fu Ying wasn't unintelligent, but her eagerness to outdo Shi Mei would lead to her disadvantage.

Shi Mei wrote a list and handed it over. Fu Ying, puzzled by the unfamiliar herbs, asked, "Where can these be bought?"

"Oh, they are hard to find!" Shi Mei pondered, "Some are from the Tianshan Mountains, some from the South Sea, and others from Myanmar..."

"Alright, alright," Fu Ying quickly interrupted, "Your Highness, why don't you name a price, and I'll give you the money. You can find someone to purchase them."

"Oh... that's possible, but these herbs are so costly, I fear the Fu family... after all, you're just ordinary folks, even I, a princess, find them expensive."

"Ha!" Fu Ying scoffed, "Your Highness, you're really underestimating the Fu family. What's so difficult about a few herbs?!"

"Is that so?" Shi Mei pondered, "Then let's have some doctors come to appraise them. I don't want to quote an inaccurate price and cause you losses." She nodded at Qin Zhang, who arranged for some doctors to come.

Fu Ying found Shi Mei somewhat troublesome. She thought, 'How petty, just like someone who grew up in the common marketplaces, lacking any royal demeanor.'

Soon, several doctors arrived, all knowledgeable proprietors of large medical herb shops.

Fu Ying handed the prescription to the shopkeepers and said, "Give me a rough estimate of the cost, err on the higher side. Don't worry about saving money for me."

"Yes!" The shopkeepers took the prescription, glanced at it, and exchanged puzzled looks before starting their calculations.

Fu Ying wondered what they were doing.

Fu Si shook his head helplessly, watching Shi Mei quietly drinking tea with a serious expression. Fu Ying and Shi Mei shouldn't have been so different, but his sister was clouded by jealousy.

Soon, the shopkeepers finished their calculations and presented the total to Fu Ying for verification.

Fu Ying almost shouted in shock, "Ten thousand taels?!"

One of the shopkeepers added, "Miss, it's in gold."

"What kind of herbs cost so much?!" Fu Ying exclaimed, "Isn't this just a scam?"

Fu Si watched her with resignation, thinking, 'Now you realize it's a trap.'

"Oh, Miss Fu, there's no need to overreact. Although the medicine is expensive, it's not the priciest. Some herbs cost tens of thousands of taels of gold each. I've seen such in the palace." Shi Mei, appearing somewhat arrogant as she put down her teacup, wasn't really that type of person. She was simply targeting Fu Ying's weakness – her fear of losing to Shi Mei, who had won Bai She's affection, igniting Fu Ying's long-held resentment.

Shi Mei wasn't one to kick someone when they were down, but given the Fu siblings' continuous plots against Bai She, she was not to be trifled with and believed in settling scores.

Fu Ying was at a loss for words, and Shimei shook her head with a sigh, "Ah, this is troublesome..."

Never mind! Brother Qin, please tell those delivering the herbs that we can only pay half in silver now. We'll have to owe the rest. I doubt there's anywhere to borrow from. I'll discuss it with the Empress Mother when I return to the palace. But it seems Brother Bai will have to suffer a bit longer."

Qin Zhang nodded in agreement.

"Well then, all those tasks waiting for Brother Bai can only be postponed. If those merchants want a refund, they'll just have to wait. I'll go back and raise the funds." Shi Mei wore a look of 'poor me, unlucky Bai She, his attacker is so despicable'.

Fu Ying couldn't swallow her pride at this, glancing at her big brother, Fu Si. He was a man of status in the jianghu, so how could he stoop to argue over money with a young woman.

Gritting her teeth, Fu Ying declared, "The Fu family isn't exactly impoverished. Princess, whatever amount you put up, we'll match it. After all, it's for Bai She's sake."

Shi Mei looked at Fu Ying with feigned surprise, "Miss Fu is really generous."

"Of course," Fu Ying stood up, "I'm going to see Bai She."

"Brother Bai is unwell and is not seeing anyone," Shi Mei deliberately used a more intimate form of address to irritate her.

"How badly is Brother Bai injured?" Fu Si's demeanor became serious, devoid of his earlier casualness.

Shi Mei rolled her eyes at him, "Fu Si, you should know."

"It was really just a common poison," Fu Si looked remorseful, "I use it against enemies and rarely use it otherwise! I truly didn't expect this to happen today. May I see Brother Bai?"

"No, Brother Bai needs rest," Shi Mei refused firmly, her face showing clear displeasure.

Fu Si could see that Shi Mei's annoyance was genuine; Bai She was indeed injured, though probably not seriously. Knowing his own poison, he understood Shi Mei was exaggerating, seeking compensation and making veiled accusations to vent her frustration.

"In that case..." Fu Si stood up, "we won't bother you further. What are your plans next, Princess?"

"What else can I do?" Shi Mei replied with irritation, "Now that Bai She has been wrongly accused and has a wager with the Duan family, how will he recover quickly from this harm? What will happen when the jianghu people rise against him? If Master Fu truly regrets his actions, stop with the fake compassion and help Bai She investigate the case."

Fu Si nodded, "Yes, yes... we'll take our leave then."

"Don't let me keep you," Shi Mei gave them a cold look.

Fu Ying, seeing Shi Mei's anger and guessing Bai She must be seriously hurt, felt a bit resentful towards her brother. She quickly added, "I'll have the money sent over in a little while!"

Shi Mei smiled, "I trust you won't default on the payment, Miss Fu."

"Of course not," Fu Ying, having spent money and still feeling annoyed, had no choice but to leave with Fu Si.

Once they were gone, Mei Zi rubbed her face and made a funny face at Qin Quan, who was gaping at her in astonishment. "What's up?"

Qin Quan chuckled and shook his head, "Mei Zi, did you just trick them into giving you money?"

Shi Mei huffed, "I just wanted them to bleed a bit to teach them a lesson!" She then stood up and looked around. "Speaking of which, the money Red Leaf saved was just enough for a house like this. The kids are growing up fast. We can use this money to build better houses for everyone here, and a school and a temple for the town. The rest can be saved for the children's dowries and betrothals. What do you think?"

Qin Quan nodded, "That sounds great." He leaned in and asked, "Tell me honestly, Mei Zi, is Bai She really okay?"

"Didn't the doctor just say?" Shi Mei looked away, "He needs to use his internal strength to expel the poison."

Qin Quan frowned, "So he really is poisoned? I thought nothing could hurt him. This is worrying." He patted Shi Mei on the back, "Take good care of Bai She, I'll go investigate the case."

Shi Mei nodded, feeling guilty for keeping secrets from her good friend.

Qin Quan observed Shi Mei's expression, somewhat sure of his suspicions but resigned. As Bai She had said, he was too used to being tricked by them. As long as they were fine, that was what mattered.

Returning to Bai She's room, Shi Mei found him sitting by the window, holding a tiger-striped kitten and staring out, lost in thought.

Shi Mei approached, gently stroking the cat's head, "Acting like this, you're going to make Xiao Fu Zi jealous."

Bai She laughed and pulled her closer, "What about you? Are you jealous?"

Shi Mei didn't respond, carefully examining his hand. Bai She whispered in her ear, "Tonight, someone might attack. I need to pretend to be injured. Remember not to leave my side; they will likely target you to test me."

Shi Mei's heart tightened, "I know, but don't get hurt for real just to keep up appearances. I won’t be happy."

Bai She adjusted her bangs gently, "Okay, I understand."