After the carriage passed through the heavy city walls, A Jiu finally breathed a sigh of relief, her head still bowed.
Nanming City bustled with a cacophony of voices, the endless din of commerce and hawking. It was a world away from the outside.
The carriage suddenly stopped. "Girl, your grandfather said bringing you into the city would be enough."
"By the way, Grandpa Niu, do you know how to get to the Hualán Medical Hall?" A Jiu alighted from the carriage.
"Hualán Medical Hall? It's at the east end of this street. Why don't I take you there?"
As he spoke of the east end of the street, A Jiu clearly saw Grandpa Niu hesitate. Perhaps it was inconvenient to fetch water. "Grandpa Niu, you go fetch water. I can walk there. Thank you so much, Grandpa, I can't let you miss fetching water because of me."
Fortunately, A Jiu’s dress was long, concealing the worn-out cloth shoes on her feet. Only the hem of her skirt, dragging on the ground, would be a pity if it got dirty, so she had to hold it up all the way.
A Jiu followed Grandpa Niu’s directions, heading east along the street. She hadn't seen such bustling streets for many years, and there were even bun vendors. There were also various small trinkets. She truly wondered how the King of Nanming managed this city, that it still maintained trade with all directions in these times.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, A Jiu reached the east end of the street. Looking at the characters on the plaque, she instantly found the sign for Hualán Medical Hall and strode in.
"Miss, where are you feeling unwell?" a young man who looked like a shop assistant blocked A Jiu.
"I'm here to see someone, one of your doctors." She only remembered her grandmother telling her this much. She would introduce herself after finding the person.
"A doctor?" The shop assistant's face contorted with distress.
"Yes." Was there something strange about that?
He then scrutinized her from head to toe. A Jiu felt nothing was amiss. The more he looked, the stranger his gaze became. "Are you looking for Doctor Liu?"
A Jiu’s head buzzed. She had only met her sister-in-law once, and that was when she was locked in the woodshed and saw her through a crack in the door. She had no idea what her maternal grandfather's surname was. However, since they were in the same profession, it should be easy to inquire. A Jiu nodded.
"Many people have come looking for Doctor Liu recently, but he’s been dead for over a month." The shop assistant’s expression was contorted, as if he had eaten something foul.
"Ah?" A Jiu suddenly felt unwell. He... died over a month ago?
"What happened?" A woman in her twenties elegantly approached, placing the tray of herbs she was holding on the counter. "Miss Liu, this girl says she's looking for the old master, but..." The assistant looked troubled, glancing between Miss Liu and A Jiu.
"Who are you? Why are you looking for my father?" the woman addressed as Miss Liu asked with a cold demeanor. Despite wearing simple cloth attire, it couldn't conceal the hardness and indifference in her eyes.
"Elder sister, I want to ask you about someone." A Jiu wasn't sure if the person she was looking for was surnamed Liu. It was said that a wife followed her husband, and her sister-in-law, having married into the Meng family, was always called Madam Meng. Only when a grandmother’s husband had passed away, like her own grandmother, would people refer to her by her maiden name, Madam Wang.
"Speak. The hall is busy, I don't have time to waste." The woman carried herself with an air of aloofness, but it wasn't condescending. It was more like a distant chill born of weariness.
"I am the daughter of the Meng family from Xinghua Village. I'm looking for Meng Nanxing's father-in-law." That’s all A Jiu could say.
"What did you say?" Miss Liu's pupils contracted. She sized A Jiu up. "You are Meng Shaode's... daughter? Meng Nanxing's sister?" She looked at the girl again in disbelief. She remembered when she married into the Meng family, she saw a dirty, snot-nosed little waif. Her gaze was like a knife, scraping over A Jiu. A Jiu flinched back two steps. It seemed she had found the right person; this woman was likely her elder brother's sister-in-law who had returned to her maiden home. She had changed, not quite as she remembered. When they first met, her brother had just married, and her sister-in-law had smiled and given her a piece of candy. Although they had no contact after the family split, she had never been as cold as she was now.
Liu Cai'er pressed forward, her eyes growing sharper. "You're A Jiu, right? Go back and tell your elder brother that I've completely given up on him, and my father is also dead. Don't bother my life again." The last half of the sentence was a shout.