Chapter 13: 13

Chapter 13: Lip service (2)

“Qing’er is angry?”

Zhou Qing shook her head. She didn’t have the kind of temperament that didn’t know what was good and horrid. Her brother was just concerned about her and the child in her womb. Making her try to avoid the herbs as much as possible. If the way she fostered her child was half-hearted, how was she different from the Luo family, who were wolf-hearted and had the lungs of a dog?

“I’m just a little anxious. My brother will take the Imperial examinations in the future, and Yu Fu and Wang Lu didn’t learn our father’s craft. Will our Zhou family’s skill in herbal blending disappear? I am unwilling!”

She said so but in fact, what Zhou Qing cared most about weren’t the herbs but the lives of her parents and relatives. Recalling what happened in her previous life, her relatives left her one after the other. She hated herself for her incompetence. If she had the ability to stop the fire, to stop her brother from being framed, her parents wouldn’t have died one after another because of depression; if she had made up her mind and reconciled with Luo Yu earlier, Zheng’er wouldn’t have to starve to death… In the end, it was all her fault.

The woman’s eyes were slightly red. A thin layer of moisture coated those almond eyes, and that pathetic appearance made Zhou Liangyu experience heartache beyond words. He walked to Zhou Qing, holding her hand tightly, and said softly, “My sister is so smart. Your talent is not comparable to our father. However, as long as you learn by heart, one day, you will hone your skills to the peak. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

Clutching the soft lapel, Zhou Qing knew she had no time. As long as the Xuande furnace was still in their household, one of these days, with Liu Zhaoqu’s greedy nature, he wouldn’t let them go. Unless… The Xuande furnace was with a person whom he could not afford to offend or else he would die.

The eyes flashed slightly, and an idea faintly emerged in Zhou Qing’s heart. She licked her dry lips, abruptly stood up, left with an “I’ll go find Father,” and quickly ran out of the study.

Looking at her back, Zhou Liangyu’s heart tightened in horror, afraid that Qing’er would be careless and bump her belly. She was still pregnant with a child and could not afford to toss and turn.

Zhou Qing walked outside the herbal room and gently knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

Stepping over the threshold, she looked around and found that her father was the only one in the room. Seeing as there weren’t any other fellows, she slowly asked, “Father, if this daughter remembered correctly, our family should have a Xuande Furnace.”

Father Zhou’s face sank. He set down the herbal holder in his hand and asked, “Where did you hear such a rumor?” For people who cherished herbs, the importance of the Xuande furnace was far more significant than genuine gold and silver, and it wasn’t too much to say that it was a priceless treasure. Father Zhou had lived for so many years and had long pondered the words “no sin, no crime, no sin” thoroughly. So when he unexpectedly heard these words, his heart and soul couldn’t help but tremble.

“It was the first time I heard of this. Because of the switching of the herbs, I felt something was wrong with Wang Lu, so I secretly followed him and found that he was covertly in contact with a little maid from the Liu household, and that little maid asked him if he had any news about the Xuande Furnace.” Zhou Qing was reluctant to lie, but if a lie could free her family from the fate of her previous life, even if she had to commit to lip service and lie, it wouldn’t matter.

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“The master of the Liu House is Liu Zhaoqu. His daughter opened the herbal pavilion across the street. I’m sure you’ve heard of it. Our family is just a commoner. How can we compete with such a rich merchant? If we leave the Xuande Furnace at home again, it will surely bring disaster!”

Father Zhou didn’t feel that Zhou Qing was an alarmist, he had been living carefully for so many years, even if his skill for refining was very high, he could never let it go in his head. Now, thinking of the precious Xuande Furnace, Father Zhou couldn’t help but frown tightly.

Lowering her gaze, Zhou Qing continued, “This daughter has a way to get through this hurdle. It all depends on your willingness to give up.”

“What method?” Father Zhou asked.

“No matter how many means Liu Zhaoqu has, he’s only a merchant. He can deal with our family but can’t compete with the officials. As long as the Xuande Furnace is sent to the hands of the dignitaries, no matter how many methods he has, he won’t be able to use them.”

“Having said that, the Xuande Furnace is an heirloom that has been passed down in our family for several generations. To send it out like that is a shameful act before our ancestors ah!”

The pain in Father Zhou’s eyes was evident. Zhou Qing took a deep breath, suppressing the fear in her heart, and said with a determined smile, “This daughter knows a nobleman. He will certainly help us with this. After this precarious time, we will get the Xuande Furnace back. We will not lose the family heirloom.”

Father Zhou was obviously a bit unconvinced and asked, “A nobleman? What nobleman?”

“If you believe me, don’t ask again. Even if we give the Xuande Furnace to someone else for nothing, it’s better than being set up by the Liu’s.”

Her father finally nodded his head in agreement. As his daughter said, in the face of an enemy who was scheming against his family, he really couldn’t not give up the Xuande Furnace. It was better to hand over the treasure first. If there was an opportunity in the future, they could get the item back.

“The Xuande Furnace is here. Later, I will wrap it up. You give it to that person.”

Zhou Qing nodded in compliance, but her heart was in a state of panic because the noble person she mentioned was no other than Commander Xie Chong, whom she met by chance that day.

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Author’s Note: The diameter of the Xuande furnace in the text is 8-12cm, about the same size as a cell phone ~~

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